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GHTING  WIT 

THE  U.S. ARM 


:\PT.  CHARLES  A.BOTSFORRC! 


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LET  ME  HAVE  A  LOOK 


FIGHTING  WITH 
THE  U.  S.  ARMY 

By 

Captain  Charles  A.  B.otsford 

Canadian  Expeditionary  Force 
Author  of  **  Joining  the  Co  lor  s^^^  etc. 


Illustrations   by 
Dons^ld  S.  Humphreys 


THE     PENN     PUBLISHING     COMPANY 

PHILADELPHIA 

1919 


COPYRIGHT 

1919  ^  Y 
THE  PENN 
PUBLISHING 
COMPANY 


•  •  ••  • 

•  •  •  •  • 


•    •  •  ^*  ••• 


Fighting  With  the  U.  S.  Array 


Introduction 

In  this  present  story,  the  second  one  of  "  The 
Victory  Series,"  the  author  has  endeavored  to  pre- 
sent without  exaggeration  a  picture  of  conditions  in 
England  and  France  as  they  existed  when  the  ad- 
vance divisions  of  the  mighty  American  Army,  that 
upon  the  President's  decision  poured  with  such 
amazing  celerity  in  one  unbroken  stream  across  the 
Atlantic,  made  a  brief  and  welcome  halt  on  their  way 
to  a  much  longer  sojourn  in  the  training  camps  and 
trenches  of  our  great  sister  republic. 

As  in  "Joining  the  Colors,"  the  first  of  this 
series,  the  hicidents  of  this  second  story  of  "  The 
Victory  Series  "  are  in  no  sense  mere  figments  of 
the  author's  fancy.  Every  one  of  them  actually 
happened,  and  the  descriptions  of  the  details  also 
are  as  accurate  as  a  fallible  memory  will  permit. 

Since  completing  the  story  the  writer  has  been 
asked:  "Was  Baptiste,  the  French  Canadian, 
really  killed  in  that  raid? "  and  "  Did  *  The  Duke ' 
finally  recover? "  The  answer  to  both  questions  is, 
"  Yes."  That  trench  away  do^vn  in  Lorraine  was, 
and  is,  the  last  resting  place  of  the  brave  French 

M32071 


INTRODUCTION 

Canadian;  and  "  The  Duke  "  is  at  this  writing  still 
flying  in  and  for  France. 

"  In  the  Trenches,"  the  third  story  of  "  The  Vic- 
tory Series,"  and  now  in  press,  will  tell  of  the  fur- 
ther adventures  of  the  Dale  Academy  boys  in  open 
and  trench  fighting,  and  Jack  Morgan  will  be  there 
with  his  "  tank." 

Captain  C.  A.  Botsford^  C.  E.  F. 

Ogdemburg,  N.  F.  ; 


Contents 


I.  Two  Friends 

II.  Jack  Morgan     . 

III.  The  Second  in  Command 

IV.  The  Special  Idea 
V.  The  Depth  Bombs 

VI.  Zeebrugge 

VII.  News  from  Home 

VIII.  The  Answer 

IX.  Baptiste     . 

X.  The  Gas  Instructor 

XI.  The  Class 

XII.  The  Front 

XIII.  The  Salient 

XIV.  The  W^iggler    . 
XV.  The  Listening  Post  . 

XVI.  The  Patrol 

XVII.  The  Colonel  Agrees 

XVIII.  The  Raid  .         .         . 


9 
26 

43 
61 

76 

89 

ic6 

121 

133 
152 

162 

184 

204 

221 

237 
258 

279 

^93 


Illustrations 


**  Let  Me  Have  a  Look  " 

The  Cross  of  the  "  Legion  d'Honneur  " 

Dover  and  Other  Channel  Ports      , 

The  Victoria  Cross  or  "  V.  C." 

Zeebrugge — Harbor 

**  We  Are  to  Wait  for  a  Signal  " 

"  I'm  All  Right  "    . 

How  Zeebrugge  Harbor  Was  Blocked 

A  French  "  Poilu  "  ... 

The  **  Penguin  " — or  Training  Plane 

He  Straightened  Up  With  a  Snap     . 

An  American  Gas-Mask    . 

The  Famous  French  "  75  " 

Artillery  Attack  on  Earthworks  (i) 

Artillery  Attack  on  Earthworks  (2) 

Diagram  of  Fire-Trench  . 

Rifle  Grenade — Often  Called  *'  The  Pippin  *' 

Cross-Section  of  a  Trench        , 

Cross-Section  of  a  Trench,  Showing  Dugout 

7 


PAGE 

Frontispiece 
12 
47 

55 

64 

65 

96 

98 

124 

138 

H5 
178 
188 
192 
194 
211 
213 
229 
245 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Trench  Periscope 249 

The  Sap  .         .         .         .         .       v 254 

The  "  Saw-Buck  " 263 

The  Mills  Bomb  (Exterior) 268 

The  Mills  Bomb  (Section)         .         .         ,         .         ,         .  270 
**  He*s  Trying  for  a  Landing"           ,         .         ,         ,         .301 

Hand  Grenade 308 


Fighting  With  the  U.  S.  Army 

8, 


Fighting  With  the  U.  S. 
Army 

CHAPTER  I 

TWO  FRIENDS 

**Come  one,  come  all,  to  spend  your  lives  and  gold, 
Come  heroes,  gentlemen,  the  hrave,  the  hold. 
To  France!*' 

Private  soldiers,  hung  with  accoutrements  like 
Christmas  trees,  bumped  up  against  staff  officers 
with  never  a  salute  nor  "  beg  pardon,  sir  " ;  porters 
ran  about  with  valises,  bags  and  packs;  subalterns 
butted  rudely  into  generals  who  merely  smiled;  for 
this  was  at  Victoria  railway  station,  that  great 
dividing  point  for  the  khaki  throng  just  up  by  train 
from  the  cross-Channel  boat  from  Boulogne  to  Lon- 
don and  points  farther  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  "  Blighty." 

Everybody  there  had  come  to  meet  with  eager 
welcome  somebody  else.  Among  the  arrivals  there 
were  no  broken  men,  for  this  train  carried  only 
soldiers  on  well-earned  short-leave,  after  months 
spent  in  the  inferno  of  the  front-line  trenches. 

On  the  platform  were  relatives  and  friends,  each 

9 


FmWU^Q  Jf^lTH:  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

anxiously  looking  for  his  or  her  own  especially  be- 
loved one  among  those  who  scrambled  promiscu- 
ously from  the  coaches.  Towering  head  and  shoul- 
ders above  all  the  waiting  throng  that  scrutinized 
each  officer  as  he  passed  by  was  one  who  attracted 
attention  even  among  that  anxiously  preoccupied 
multitude. 

One  pensively  pretty  maiden,  wearing  on  her 
sleeve  the  national  badge  of  proud  mourning,  said 
eagerly  to  the  sombrely  gowned  matron  by  her 
side: 

"  Look,  Mother,  there's  that  American,  the  one 
we  have  read  so  much  about  lately  in  the  papers! 
His  picture  has  been  in  The  Daily  Mirror  more 
than  once." 

A  young  wife  leaning  fondly  upon  the  arm  of  a 
lame  officer  asked: 

"  Who  is  that  distinguished-looking  young  of- 
ficer, Arthur?     He  is  the  tallest  man  I  ever  saw." 

The  lame  officer  turned  his  glance  from  the  pass- 
ing arrivals  to  the  direction  indicated  by  his  wife. 
With  a  gleam  of  warm  approval  his  eyes  rested  for 
a  moment  upon  the  tall  youth  in  the  uniform  of  a 
lieutenant  of  Canadian  Infantry. 

"  That  must  be  Van  Home,  V.  C,  of  the  Ca- 
nadians. He  is  a  young  American  who  was  per- 
sonally decorated  by  the  King  at  Buckingham 
Palace  only  last  week." 

10 


TWO  FRIENDS 

"  Have  you  ever  met  him? "  asked  his  wife. 

"  No,  but  I  am  sure  that's  the  man.  He  has 
been  described  as  the  second  tallest  man  in  the 
B.  E.  F/  There  is  but  one  other  soldier  who  is 
taller,  a  private  in  one  of  our  Highland  regiments; 
they  say  he  is  over  eight  feet  tall.  Besides,  he  is 
wearing  the  ribbon  of  the  Victoria  Cross  on  his  coat. 
Do  you  not  see  it?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,"  the  lady  replied,  "  I  remember  read- 
ing about  it.  The  papers  all  said  it  was  one  of  the 
finest  and  most  unselfish  things  done  since  the  war 
began.  With  a  handful  of  men  he  captured  a 
machine-gun  emplacement,  carried  on  his  shoulders 
a  wounded  man  all  the  way  across  No  Man's  Land 
under  fire,  and  after  he  had  reached  the  safety  of 
his  own  trench,  though  wounded,  he  left  it  again  to 
go  to  the  rescue  of  an  officer  who  lay  dying  out 
there  in  a  shell  hole.  That  was  the  young  Amer- 
ican you  meant,  was  it  not,  Arthur?  " 

"  Yes,  it  was  a  bit  of  all  right,  that,"  replied  her 
husband  in  accents  of  keen  admiration  for  the  brave 
deed  of  a  comrade-in-arms,  an  action  the  true 
significance  and  detail  of  which  only  one,  who, 
like  himself,  had  been  there,  could  really  appreciate. 
"And  he  *  clicked '  another  bullet  the  second  time 
in  the  head,"  he  added. 

"  I  do  hope  he  is  better  of  his  hurts,"  the  little 

*  British  Expeditionary  Forces. 
II 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 


wife  said,  looking  up  wistfully,  though  proudly,  at 
her  own  soldier  hero  who  would  always  be  lame 
now. 

Lieutenant  Van  Home,  V.  C,  rendered  from 
long  habit  quite  unconscious  of  the  notice  one  of 
his  magnificent  physique  must  attract  in  any  gath- 
ering, continued  undisturbed  his  scrutiny  of  the 
line  of  Pullmans.  He  paid  no  attention  to  the 
happy  laughing  soldiers  of  various  ranks  who 
passed.  From  where  he  stood  he  could  view  over 
the  heads  of  the  crowd  the  whole  length  of  the  train. 
He  had  come  down  to  Victoria 
that  evening  to  meet  his  old 
friend  and  schoolmate  of  former 
days,  Ralph  Storm,  now  also  a 
lieutenant  of  the  Canadian  Ex- 
peditionary Force,  and  who  was 
in  reality  that  very  same  soldier 
whom  Van  Home  had  carried  to 
safety  across  No  Man's  Land 
amidst  a  hail  of  rifle  and  machine- 
gun  bullets. 
Lieutenant  Storm  was  return- 
ing to  London  on  furlough  after  three  months  of 
continuous  service  in  the  trenches,  during  which  he 
had  sufficiently  distinguished  himself  in  the  eyes  of 
our  gallant  French  allies  to  receive  from  them  the 
decoration  of  the  ""  Legion  d'Honneur" 

12 


The  Cross  of  the  "Le- 
gion d'Honneur" — 
the  decoration  worn 
by  Ralph  Storm. 


TWO  FRIENDS 

In  that  repulse  of  the  "  flammenwerfer  "  attack, 
during  which  he  had  saved  his  friend's  life  when 
the  latter  had  dropped  in  the  middle  of  No  Man's 
Land  with  a  bullet  in  his  knee,  Rodman  Van  Home 
had  himself  been  much  more  severely  wounded  than 
Storm.  Although  he  was  then  fully  recovered  from 
his  wounds  he  had  not  as  yet  been  returned  to 
France;  but  had  been  employed  since  his  convales- 
cence on  staff  duty  in  London.  He  was  anxious  to 
meet  Storm  again,  for  there  were  many  and  serious 
thmgs  that  he  wished  to  talk  over  with  him;  so  his 
whole  countenance  brightened  with  a  smile  of  great 
satisfaction  when  he  at  length  perceived  his  friend 
emerging  from  one  of  the  railway  coaches. 

His  lion-like  head  and  massive  shoulders  loom- 
ing above  the  heads  and  shoulders  of  all  others  there, 
and  waving  aloft  one  of  his  great  hands  in  signal 
to  his  friend,  Van  Home  made  his  way  irresistibly, 
yet  gently,  through  the  crowd  that  parted  with 
smiling  good  humor  for  this  eager  young  giant  in 
khaki. 

They  met  like  two  big  schoolboys,  who  greet  one 
another  for  the  first  time  after  the  long  vacation. 
And  after  all  they  were  really  at  heart  but  two  big 
American  prep-school  boys,  in  spite  of  their  sol- 
dierly bearing,  smart  uniforms,  and  fighting  deco- 
rations. 

As  their  hands  met  in  eager  clasp,  and  their  eyes 

13 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

smiled  into  eyes  that  smiled  again,  they  greeted 
each  other  simultaneously. 

"Hello,  Ralph,  old  boy!"  laughed  Rod  Van 
Home  joyously. 

"  Hello,  Van,  old  top,  how  goes  it? "  cried  Ralph. 

"  I  heard  about  it,  and  was  awfully  glad,  old 
man,"  said  Van  Home,  touching  with  the  index 
finger  of  his  left  hand  the  ribbon  of  the  "  Legion 
d'Honneur"  on  the  other's  breast,  while  giving 
Storm's  hand  an  additional  gentle  squeeze  with 
his  right  that  ordinarily  would  have  caused  the 
latter  to  jerk  his  suffering  fingers  away. 

Now,  however,  he  merely  retorted  laughingly, 
while  at  the  same  time  pointing  to  the  ribbon  of  the 
Victoria  Cross  on  his  huge  friend's  coat: 

"And  Father  told  me  just  the  other  day  in  Paris 
what  a  swell  you  were  getting  to  be.  Van.  Calling 
on  the  King,  and  by  special  invitation,  no  less,  at 
his  royal  palace  of  Buckingham!  When  you  get 
time,  old  top,  you  must  tell  me  how  it  feels  to  walk 
and  talk  with  kings?     I  am  just  dying  to  know." 

"All  right,"  smiled  Van.  "  But  let's  go  and  get 
something  to  eat  first.  You  must  be  good  and 
hungry,  and  I'm  nearly  famished ;  I  have  been  wait- 
ing to  have  lunch  with  you." 

Had  some  stolid  and  respectable  British  civilian 
observed  these  two  fine  young  officers  pointing  so 
gleefully  at  each  other's  military  decorations,  and 

14 


TWO  FRIENDS 

overheard  them  thus  merrily  chaffing  one  another 
about  them,  he  might  well  have  thought  that  here 
were  two  American  schoolboys,  who  thought  it  a 
huge  joke  to  go  down  into  the  very  jaws  of  death 
and  emerge  therefrom  wearing  as  their  due  the 
badges  of  the  highest  award  for  acts  of  signal  and 
unselfish  personal  valor. 

"  Come  on! "  said  Van  Home,  "  let's  duck  out 
of  this  before  the  people  around  begin  to  think  we're 
nutty!" 

Together  they  passed  out  through  the  gate,  and 
there  being  a  dearth  of  taxis  in  those  days,  they  had 
to  be  satisfied  with  a  "  growler."  ' 

"  Claridge's !  "  Van  directed  the  driver,  as  he  took 
his  seat  beside  Storm  in  the  ancient  horse-drawn 
four-wheeler. 

"  Claridge's?"  echoed  Storm  interrogatively.  "I 
say,  Van !  I  always  knew  there  was  nothing  small 
about  you,  from  your  hands  to  your  feet,  both  in- 
cluded. But  there  certainly  is  some  class  to 
'Claridge's.'" 

"  Well,  you  see,"  explained  Van  Home  apolo- 
getically and  with  a  little  whimsical  smile  curling 
up  the  corners  of  his  mouth,  "  it  was  just  like  this. 
You  know,  I'd  never  been  in  London  before,  and 
when  I  asked  the  Commandant  at  the  hospital  what 
hotel  I  had  better  stay  at,  he  said  that  as  I  was 

'Growler:  London  slang  for  cab. 
15 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMY 

about  to  be  summoned  to  Buckingham  Palace  it 
would  perhaps  be  as  well  for  me  to  go  there  for  a 
few  days,  even  if  it  did  come  a  bit  high.  Anyway, 
my  pay  and  allowance  almost  cover  my  hotel  ex- 
penses." 

"All  right,  your  highness ! "  laughed  Ralph.  "  I 
suppose  I  can  afford  to  stay  with  you  there  just 
about  long  enough  to  have  a  good  look  at  the  office 
clock." 

"Nonsense!"  said  his  companion,  just  a  trifle 
irritated  by  his  friend's  chaffing,  "  you  are  going 
to  stay  with  me  just  as  long  as  you  are  in  town." 

As  they  drove  along  Storm  began  to  look  about 
him  curiously,  and  there  was  a  momentary  silence 
between  them. 

"What's  the  matter,  Ralph?"  Van  Home, 
noticing  the  perplexed  expression  on  his  friend's 
countenance,  at  length  demanded. 

"  That's  just  the  question  I  have  been  asking 
myself,"  replied  Storm,  "  and  the  answer  has  but 
just  now  come  to  me.  It's  the  darkened  street 
lights,  the  small  dim  twinkling  will-o'-the-wisp 
lamps  of  the  cabs,  and  the  shaded  lights  of  the  shop 
windows.  You  know,  it  was  before  the  air  raids 
when  I  was  here  last." 

"  Yes,  in  that  case  I  can  readily  believe  how 
strange  the  appearance  of  the  town  must  be  to 
you,"  observed  Van  Home.     "  Since  I  came  up 

i6 

I 


TWO  FRIENDS 

two  weeks  ago  there  has  been  but  one  raid.  It  was 
at  night,  and  I  knew  nothing  about  it  till  next 
morning." 

"  Great  guns !  And  you  slept  right  through  it ! " 
ejaculated  Storm.  "  I  am  quite  sure  that  I'd  feel 
more  nervous  about  bombs  here  than  in  the  trenches, 
where  we  are  more  or  less  used  to  hearing  explo- 
sions of  one  kind  or  another  almost  all  the  time." 

"  Tell  me,  Ralph,"  queried  Van  curiously,  chang- 
ing the  subject,  "  about  that  bit  of  work  for  which 
you  were  decorated.  I  read  the  brief  oflBcial  ac- 
count of  it;  but  you  know  how  little  real  informa- 
tion there  is  in  them.  Tell  me  the  whole  story, 
Ralph." 

"Oh,  pshaw!  I  can't  tell  you  much  about  it. 
You  know  how  it  is  yourself.  A  fellow  taking  part 
in  one  of  those  little  shows  cannot  describe  after- 
ward what  took  place  half  as  well  as  some  one 
who  was  merely  looking  on.  You  do  things  on  the 
spur  of  the  moment,  scarcely  realizing  what  you  are 
doing,  or  remembering  faintly  the  details  of  it 
afterward." 

"  From  the  official  notice  which  I  clipped  from 
one  of  the  daily  papers,"  observed  Van,  "  I  judged 
that  your  *  little  show,'  as  you  call  it,  somewhat 
resembled  that  affair  in  which  we  were  both 
wounded,  about  six  months  ago." 

"  Not  much! "  replied  his  friend.     "  It  was  not 

17 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

half  so  lively  as  that  one.  It  was  like  it  only  in 
that  it  was  another  machine-gun  mix-up.  Our 
battalion,  on  the  extreme  British  right,  occupied  a 
point  of  *  liaison '  with  the  French.  They  had  lost 
a  minor  position  just  on  our  right,  and  we  jumped 
in  to  help  them  get  it  back  again.  We  succeeded. 
I  got  an  enemy  machine  gun  myself,  and  got  back 
without  a  scratch.  And  that's  about  all  I  can  tell 
you  about  it." 

Ralph  was  quite  sincere,  and  was  not  at  all  en- 
deavoring to  assume  an  affectation  of  modesty. 
He  was  no  exception;  the  best  fighting  men  as  a 
rule  are  those  who  can  tell  you  least  about  the  en- 
gagements in  which  they  participated.  The  offi- 
cial Record  Office  report,  however,  which  Van  had 
clipped  from  the  newspaper,  read  as  follows: 

"  By  collecting  all  available  men  and  charging 
the  enemy  Lieutenant  Ralph  Storm  regained  a  lost 
position  on  our  extreme  right.  On  a  second  occa- 
sion when  his  platoon  was  suffering  heavy  casual- 
ties he  rushed  alone  across  the  fire-swept  ground 
and  attacked  a  hostile  gun  crew  with  bombs  before 
the  gun  could  be  got  into  action.  He  succeeded  in 
killing  the  whole  crew,  and  in  bringing  back  the 
machine  gun  to  our  position.  Lieutenant  Storm 
is  by  birth  an  American." 

Before  Van  could  question  him  further  Storm 

himself  captured  the  offensive. 

i8 


TWO  FRIENDS 

"  Tell  me  about  the  performance  at  the  Palace, 
Ralph.  I'm  not  fooling.  I  really  want  to  know. 
Although  it  is  perhaps  a  bit  previous  to  say  any- 
thing about  it,  I  have  been  told  on  pretty  good 
authority  that  I  am  to  be  recommended  for  the 
M.  C  in  Haig's  next  list,  so  I'd  like  to  know  how 
to  perform,  in  case  I  too  get  a  chance  to  line  up 
with  the  rest  of  you  fellows  who  walk  and  talk  with 
kings." 

At  his  friend's  half -mocking  request,  and  the 
reminiscence  which  it  called  up.  Van  enjoyed  a 
quiet  chuckle. 

"'Performance'  is  good!  That's  what  it  was, 
all  right,  so  far  as  I  was  concerned,  at  least.  But 
I  can't  tell  you  much  more  about  it  than  you  can 
tell  me  about  your  *  little  show '  over  there.  I 
know  I'd  just  as  soon  go  over  the  top  any  day  as  to 
go  through  that  *  performance '  again." 

Van  again  interrupted  himself  with  a  hearty 
burst  of  laughter.  Storm,  knowing  his  friend's 
innate  bashfulness  on  all  such  occasions,  was  able 
to  appreciate  the  latter's  present  merriment,  and 
smiled  in  sympathy,  while  at  the  same  time  he  urged 
the  other  to  proceed. 

"  There  must  have  been  something  very  funny 
about  it,  to  make  you  laugh  like  this.  Van?  " 

"  I  guess  I  was  about  the  funniest  thing  there," 

*  Military  Cross. 
19 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

said  Lieutenant  Van  Home.  "  I  felt  like  a  big 
chump,  and  I  know  that  I  must  have  looked  and 
acted  like  one.  You  made  some  personal  remark, 
not  in  the  best  of  good  taste,  I  must  say,  about  my 
large  feet  and  hands  just  a  few  minutes  ago,  Raljjh. 
Well,  that  morning  at  Buckingham  Palace  I  felt 
as  if  I  were  all  feet  and  hands. 

"  But  here  we  are  at  Claridge's !  I'll  tell  you  all 
about  it  some  other  time,"  broke  off  Van  as  the 
"  growler  "  drew  up  before  the  great  hotel  entrance. 

The  two  young  American  officers  of  the  Canadian 
Expeditionary  Force  took  considerable  time  to 
make  even  their  simple  soldier  toilets,  so  continuous 
was  the  rapid-fire  exchange  of  question  and  answer. 

"  There  is  one  subject  in  particular  that  I  want 
to  talk  over  with  you,  Ralph,"  said  Rod  Van  Home, 
pausing  in  the  act  of  smoothing  down  his  unruly 
top  hair,  his  brush  paused  in  momentary  immobility 
above  his  head  as  if  he  were  stiffly  posing  for  some 
hair  tonic  advertisement. 

"And  I  think  I  laiow  what  that  subject  is,"  re- 
joined his  friend,  Ralph  Storm,  unfastening  his 
leggings,  preparatory  to  changhig  from  riding 
breeches  to  slacks  for  the  rest  of  the  evening. 

"What  do  you  think  it  is,  then,  Mr.  Mind- 
reader?  "  queried  Van  smilingly. 

"  You're  getting  homesick,"  replied  Ralph. 

"What  do  you  mean?"  demanded  the  other, 

20 


TWO  FRIENDS 

dropping  the  hair-brush  to  his  side,  and  turning 
from  the  mirror  to  face  the  speaker. 

"  Simply  this,"  smiled  Storm,  "  now  that  the 
good  old  U.  S.  A.  has  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
million  doughboys  already  in  France  and  three 
times  as  many  more  on  the  way,  you  are  getting 
lonesome  to  be  among  your  own  people  again," 

"  I  guess  you  are  right,  Ralph,"  confessed  Van 
Home,  "but,  besides  the  natural  desire  to  be 
among  our  own  fellows,  which  I  am  sure  you  too 
feel,  I  know  that  the  United  States  has  need  of 
every  one  of  her  sons  who  is  already  a  trained  sol- 
dier, and  she  should  have  the  first  claim  upon  our 
services." 

"  I  thought  so,"  returned  his  companion  chaff- 
ingly;  "  I  told  Father  the  last  time  I  saw  him  that 
I  was  as  certain  as  I  could  ever  be  of  anything  that 
you  would  resign  your  commission  in  the  C.  E.  F. 
as  soon  as  you  were  finally  discharged  from  hos- 
pital, in  order  to  enlist  as  a  private  soldier  in  the 
army  of  Uncle  Sam." 

"And  you  were  quite  correct,  Ralph,"  Van  re- 
joined gravely. 

"  Last  week  I  tendered  my  resignation  as  a  Lieu- 
tenant of  the  Canadian  Expeditionary  Force,  giv- 
ing my  reasons  therefor  just  as  I  have  but  now 
stated  them  to  you.  I  am  at  present  merely  wait- 
ing to  be  officially  notified  of  its  acceptance." 

21 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMY 

"And  how  about  yourself,  Ralph? " 

"Well,  dear  old  thing,  knowmg  just  exactly 
what  you  would  be  about  under  the  circumstances," 
returned  Storm  mockingly. 

"And  also  feeling  that  you  should  always  have 
some  level-headed  friend  handy  in  order  to  restrain 
you  from  again  attacking  the  whole  German  army 
single-handed,  I  too  put  in  my  resignation  last 
week,  and  gave  precisely  similar  reasons  for  do- 
ing so." 

"  Good  old  Ralph! "  said  "  Big  Van  "  softly,  and 
with  a  pleased  smile  lighting  up  his  whole  strong, 
homely  countenance.  "  I  rather  thought  you 
would." 

"And  what  do  you  think,  Van? "  pursued  Storm, 
"  When  I  spoke  to  Father  of  my  intentions,  and 
what  I  thought  yours  would  also  be,  he  got  busy  at 
once,  with  the  result  that  there  is  an  appointment 
waiting  for  each  of  us  in  the  good  old  United  States 
Army  as  soon  as  we  are  free  to  accept  them." 

"  Dad  says  that  they  will  be  glad  to  have  us," 
he  continued. 

"  But  we  shall  have  to  be  satisfied  to  act  as  in- 
structors for  a  while  at  least.  They  have  as  yet  to 
depend  almost  altogether  on  French  and  British 
officers  and  N.  C.  O.'s  *  for  instructors,  and  even 
at  that  cannot  get  enough  of  them,  although  our 

'Non-commissioned  officers — sergeants,  etc. 
22 


TWO  FRIENDS 

allies  are  letting  them  have  all  they  can  spare  for 
the  purpose." 

"  That  will  suit  me,  Ralph,  and  I  cannot  thank 
you  and  your  father  enough,  I  am  sure,"  rejoined 
Van  heartily,  and  then  he  went  on  even  more 
gravely: 

"  I  would  rather  instruct  than  fight,  any  day. 
You  know,  Ralph,  I  am  by  nature  and  at  heart  a 
pacifist,  after  all." 

"Ahem!  Yes,  I  know,"  rejoined  Storm  without 
looking  up  from  the  shoe  he  was  lacing. 

"  And  Uncle  Sam  wants  just  about  five  hundred 
thousand  more  pacifists  of  the  same  stamp  as  you 
are.  If  he  had  them  he'd  be  in  Berlin  before 
Christmas." 

And  then  before  Van  could  make  reply  he  pro- 
ceeded: 

"  Did  you  know  that  Father  had  been  promoted? 
He's  a  lieutenant-colonel  now." 

"  No,  I  hadn't  heard.  But  that  is  fine,  Ralph. 
And  I  am  sure  that  he  well  deserved  the  promo- 
tion." 

"  Yes,  I  think  so  too,  even  if  he  is  my  dad,"  said 
Storm  proudly.  "  He  offered  his  services  to  Gen- 
eral Pershing  as  soon  as  the  latter  arrived  in 
France;  but  the  General  thought  that  Father  was 
doing  such  good  service  for  the  combined  Allied 
Forces  in  connection  with  the  Canadian  Forestry 

23 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

Corps  that  for  the  general  good  of  all  he  had  better 
stay  where  he  was." 

For  the  benefit  of  our  readers  who  are  not  al- 
ready conversant  with  the  adventures  of  Lieu- 
tenants Van  Home  and  Storm/  let  us  refer  briefly 
to  events  occurring  previous  to  the  opening  of  the 
story. 

Less  than  a  year  before  Rodman  Van  Home  and 
Ralph  Storm  had  been  Seniors  at  a  celebrated  prep- 
school  in  one  of  the  Eastern  States.  Lieutenant 
Storm's  father,  then  Major  Storm,  was  an  officer 
in  the  Canadian  Forestry  Corps,  organized  for  the 
purpose  of  converting  the  forests  of  France  into 
lumber  for  army  use.  He  paid  a  visit  to  the  school 
to  inform  his  son,  Ralph,  of  the  latter's  appoint- 
ment to  a  lieutenancy  in  the  Canadian  Expedition- 
ary Force,  and  to  take  him  back  to  Canada.  This, 
of  course,  was  before  the  United  States  entered  the 
Great  War. 

Rodman  Van  Home,  who,  in  spite  of  his  ex- 
traordinary stature  and  physical  development,  was 
by  nature  and  home  training  averse  to  fighting  of 
all  kinds  and  under  any  circumstances,  shared  the 
same  room  with  Ralph  Storm  at  Dale  Academy. 
From  listening  to  the  conversation  of  Major  Storm 
he  became  so  interested  in  the  Great  War  that  after 
the  latter's  departure  from  the  Academy  with  his 

*See  "Joining  the  Colors." 
24 


TJVO  FRIENDS 

son  he,  too,  resolved  to  take  a  trip  up  into  Canada 
for  the  purpose  of  seeing  for  himself  some  of  the 
war  preparations  there  going  on. 

The  result  of  Van  Home's  trip  was  that  while  in 
the  City  of  Toronto  he  became  so  convinced  of  the 
justice  of  the  allied  cause,  and  the  urgent  need  for 
every  man's  utmost  in  this  cause,  that  he  enlisted 
as  a  private  soldier  in  the  C.  E.  F.,  in  spite  of  his 
abhorrence  of  fighting  and  bloodshed — a  repug- 
nance that  bordered  closely  on  cold-footed  fear. 
All  this,  as  we  have  just  said  above,  happened  be- 
fore that  fateful  day  in  April,  1917,  when  our  great 
and  good  President  declared  war  to  the  limit  of 
force  on  Prussianism  and  all  that  it  stood  for. 


25 


CHAPTER  II 

JACK  MORGAN 

"Fais  ce  que  dois,  advienne  que  pourra!'' 
(Do  your  duty,  come  what  may!) 

Next  morning  Rod  Van  Home  accompanied  his 
friend  to  Canadian  Headquarters,  where  the  latter 
had  to  report  his  arrival  in  London  on  leave.  After 
that  they  made  their  way  to  the  United  States 
Army  and  Navy  Club,  which  was  at  that  time 
located  in  a  magnificent  residence  on  Curzon  Street, 
which  a  British  nobleman  had  generously  lent  to 
the  American  officers  for  a  home  so  long  as  the  war 
lasted. 

In  strange  lands  it  is  always  a  pleasant  surprise 
to  meet  with,  or  even  merely  to  see,  people  from 
one's  own  home.  To  afford  mutual  pleasure  under 
such  circumstances  it  is  not  even  necessary  that  the 
persons  interested  should  have  been  on  former 
intimate  terms  of  friendship,  nor  even  of  acquaint- 
ance. The  mere  fact  of  having  known  the  same 
familiar  things,  and  having  the  power  to  recall 
the  same  well-known  incidents  of  ordinary  past  life, 

is  a  sufficient  bond  between  them. 

26 


JACK  MORGAN 

Just  such  a  surprise  and  pleasure  the  two  friends 
found  in  store  for  them  at  the  Army  and  Navy 
Club. 

Lieutenant  Van  Home,  during  the  period  of  his 
enforced  stay  in  London,  had  formed  the  habit  of 
dropping  in  there  two  or  three  times  a  week,  in  the 
forlorn  hope  that  he  might  find  among  the  young 
officers  who  already  foregathered  there  in  some 
numbers,  some  one  whom  he  had  formerly  known 
at  home;  possibly  some  of  the  boys  from  his  old 
school,  Dale  Academy. 

Although  he  had  hitherto  been  disappointed  in 
this  hope,  it  was  nevertheless  always  a  pleasure  to 
mingle  with  the  alert  and  enthusiastic  young 
fellows  who  made  the  Curzon  Street  Club  a  rendez- 
vous during  their  brief  sojourns  in  the  world's 
metropolis  on  their  way  to  France,  or  who  were 
over  in  "  Blighty  "  on  short  furloughs  from  the 
American  training  camps  already  established  in  the 
country  of  the  incomparable  "  poilu." 

Ralph  Storm  had  never  been  at  the  Club  before, 

but  he  eagerly  accepted  his  friend's  suggestion  that 

they  should  visit  it.     As  the  former  was  in  the  act 

of  paying  and  dismissing  the  driver  who  had  piloted 

their  "  growler  "  to  Curzon  Street,  Van's  attention 

was  attracted  to  a  group  of  three  young  men  in  a 

taxi,  which  had  just  pulled  up  at  the  curb  in  the 

rear  of  the  conveyance  which  he  and  Storm  had 

27 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

used.  By  their  uniforms  and  the  rank  badges  of 
their  cuffs  and  shoulder-straps  he  knew  them  to  be 
junior  grade  lieutenants  of  the  United  States 
Navy. 

Not  at  this  first  casual  glance  recognizing  any 
one  of  the  trio  as  a  former  acquaintance,  he  was 
about  turning  to  accompany  his  friend  into  the 
Club,  when  one  of  the  blue-coated  naval  officers 
cried  boisterously: 

"  Why,  look  who's  here!  If  that  is  not  big  Rod 
Van  Home,  then  my  name's  not  Jack  Mor- 
gan!" 

At  the  same  time  he  advanced  quickly  toward 
Van,  his  right  hand  outstretched  in  greeting,  and 
his  flat  face,  brick-red  from  exposure  to  sun  and 
sea  winds,  beaming  with  the  sudden  pleasure  that 
he  made  no  effort  to  conceal. 

Van  wheeled  on  hearing  his  name  thus  familiarly 
used. 

"Why,  Jack  Morgan,  can  it  be  really  you! 
Well,  I  surely  am  right  glad  to  see  you,  old  timer! 
And  in  uniform,  too;  that's  fine!" 

"And  here's  old  Ralph  with  me,  too,  Morgan," 
said  Van,  at  length  relinquishing  the  sailor's  hand 
and  drawing  his  attention  to  his  companion. 

Storm  then  also  shook  hands  warmly  with  the 
naval  lieutenant;  but  it  was  quite  evident  that  the 
latter's  greeting  to  Storm  was  not  so  spontaneously 

2^ 


JACK  MORGAN 

hearty  as  it  had  been  to  Van  Home.  An  old-boy 
of  Dale  Academy  might  have  wondered  at  this,  for 
it  was  not  Ralph  Storm,  but  Rodman  Van  Home, 
who  had  fought  Jack  Morgan,  the  erstwhile  school 
bully,  to  a  finish,  down  back  of  the  old  school  pump- 
house. 

No  recollection  had  they  of  the  disagreeable 
things  that  had  sometimes  happened  perforce  in 
those  dear  old  days  at  the  Academy.  As  they 
mounted  the  club-house  steps  side  by  side  only  the 
never-to-be-forgotten  happy  incidents  of  their 
school  life  recurred  to  their  memories.  In  a  quiet 
bay-window  of  the  reading  room  they  drew  up 
three  comfortable  chairs,  so  that  they  might  sit 
knee  to  knee.  Then  for  a  long  hour  they  chatted 
animatedly  about  the  past,  the  present,  and  the 
future  of  all  three. 

"  I  knew  that  you  were  here,  Van,  for  I  had  read 
about  you  in  the  papers.  And  on  one  or  two  occa- 
sions when  I  was  on  shore  I  tried  to  locate  you,  but 
my  time  ashore  was  always  very  short,  and  I  never 
succeeded,"  began  Jack  Morgan. 

"  Morgan,  have  you  had  any  news  from  the  old 
school  lately?" 

"  No,  I  never  wrote  to  anybody  there  after  I 
left.  You  know,  I  was  never  very  popular  among 
the  fellows,"  replied  the  naval  junior  lieutenant 
bluntly. 

29 


FIGHTING  fFITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

"  I  thought  you  might  perhaps  have  run  across 
some  of  the  fellows  somewhere,  before  you  came 
over,"  said  Storm. 

"  Well,  now  that  you  remmd  me  of  it,  I  did  meet 
Jimmy  Lawson,  him  we  used  to  call  *  Shorty,'  just 
about  three  weeks  before  I  sailed.  You  remember 
him,  I  suppose? " 

"  Remember  Shorty  Lawson?  Well  I  should 
say  we  dol  "  ejaculated  Storm. 

"  Of  course  you  would.  Silly  of  me  to  ask  that 
question,  since  it  was  he  who  refereed  that  scrap 
between  you  and  me,  Van^"  grinned  Morgan  who, 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  had  been  soundly 
thrashed  on  that  occasion,  always  looked  back  to  it 
with  evident  pleasure,  for  it  had  proved  a  blessing 
in  disguise  to  him,  because  his  friendship  with  Van 
Home  dated  from  that  event. 

"  When  did  you  meet  Shorty,  Jack,  and  what 
was  he  doing? " 

"At  the  Grand  Central  Station  in  New  York. 
He  was  on  his  way  back  to  camp  after  a  week-end 
leave." 

"  Oh,  so  Shorty  is  in  the  army  also?  Which 
branch  of  the  service  is  he  in,  Jack? " 

"  He  was  wearing  the  uniform  of  a  first  lieu- 
tenant in  the  Field  Artillery.  He  seemed  right 
glad  to  see  me  in  uniform,  too,"  replied  Morgan 
with  a  glow  of  pleasure  at  the  recollection. 

30 


JACK  MORGAN 

"  He  looked  smaller  than  ever  in  his  tight-fitting 
uniform;  but  as  neat  as  a  pin,  and  just  as  alert  and 
smart  as  he  always  was." 

"  I'll  bet  Shorty  will  make  a  rattling  good  artil- 
lery officer,"  chimed  in  Storm.  "  He  was  always 
a  top-notcher  in  mathematics.  Don't  you  think  he 
will.  Van?" 

"  Yes,  I  am  quite  sure  of  it,"  rejoined  the  latter. 
"  Shorty  always  did  put  his  whole  heart  and  soul 
into  everything  he  took  up.  I  hope  that  we  may 
run  across  him  sometime  over  in  France,  when  we 
get  our  appointments  in  the  United  States  Army, 
Ralph." 

**  Oh,  and,  by  the  way,"  pursued  Morgan,  "  he 
told  me  that  Dick  Fletcher,  the  '  Duke,'  you  know, 
had  failed  to  return  to  Dale  Academy  after  the 
same  Christmas  vacation  on  which  I  left;  and  that 
even  before  the  United  States  had  entered  the  war 
the  Duke  had  gone  up  to  Canada,  and  had  joined 
the  British  Royal  Air  Force  at  one  of  their  newly 
established  depots  up  there. 

"  Shorty  also  told  me  that  even  at  that  time  when 
he  and  I  were  talking  in  the  Grand  Central  Station, 
the  Duke  was  already  flying  in  France." 

"  Good  old  Duke !  I  do  hope  we  may  meet  him, 
too,  some  day." 

"  How  long  have  you  been  in  the  navy,  Jack? " 
queried  Van. 

31 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMr 

"  I  did  not  go  back  to  the  school  the  Christmas 
after  you  and  Storm  left,*'  replied  Morgan.  "  Be- 
fore the  United  States  went  into  the  war,  you  know, 
I  owned  a  fast  motor  yacht,  sixty-six  feet  long, 
thirteen  feet  beam,  and  drawing  four  feet  of  water. 
She  is  equipped  with  two-hundred  horse-power  en- 
gines. She  has  a  speed  of  better  than  twenty-eight 
miles  an  hour,  and  possesses  all  the  other  govern- 
ment requisites  for  Naval  Patrol  work." 

"  Motor  engines  were  always  a  hobby  of  yours, 
Jack,"  commented  Lieutenant  Storm. 

"  Yes,  and  you  may  remember  also,"  continued 
Morgan,  more  particularly  addressing  Van,  who 
had  been  sergeant-major  of  the  cadet  battalion  at 
Dale  Academy,  "  that  I  never  had  much  use  for 
soldiering;  that  is  to  say,  the  turning,  and  wheeling, 
and  marching,  and  all  that  sort  of  stuff.  So,  after 
the  President  declared  war  and  the  draft  law 
was  enacted,  I  just  thought  that  I  had  better 
make  the  best  of  a  bad  bargain,  and  get  into  the 
navy." 

"What  do  you  mean  by  'bad  bargain'?"  in- 
terrupted Storm  sharply.  "  You  are  surely  not  of 
the  opinion  that  we  might  better  have  kept  out  of 
this  war?" 

"Well,"  responded  Morgan,  regarding  his  in- 
terrogator obstinately,  and  somewhat  truculently, 
out  of  his  small  near-set  eyes,  "  I  think  it  might 

32 


JACK  MORGAN 

have  been  just  as  well  if  we  hadn't  been  forced  into 
it,  and  I  am  not  alone  in  that  opinion  among  good 
citizens  of  the  U.  S.  A.,  either."  i 

"  Jack  Morgan,  I  am  surprised  at  your  speak- 
ing so,"  returned  Storm  hotly,  for  he  was  almost  of 
as  hasty  a  temper  as  Morgan  himself.  "  Would  you 
have  American  ships  sunk  without  warning,  Amer- 
ican subjects  drowned  without  apology,  as  a  matter 
of  German  right? " 

"  No,  and,  as  always,  Ralph  Storm,  you  are 
picking  me  up  before  I  have  fallen,"  retorted  Mor- 
gan angrily.  "  What  I  mean  to  say  is  that  I  regret 
that  the  Germans  in  the  third  year  of  the  war 
should  have  deliberately  provoked  America  to  de- 
clare war  against  them,  not  that  under  the  circum- 
stances she  was  not  right  in  doing  so. 

"  I  am  not  one  of  your  pacifists,"  he  pursued, 
earnestly.  "  When  Germany  threw  the  Hinden- 
burg  Line  over  the  shores  of  America,  and  told  us 
Americans  that  we  could  not  cross  it,  I  believe  that 
it  was  up  to  us  then  to  show  them  that  the  place  for 
that  line  was  not  on  the  shores  of  America,  nor  on 
the  Atlantic  either,  but  on  the  Rhine." 

"  Hear,  hear!  "  murmured  Van,  and  he  added  in 
a  tone  meant  to  be  conciliatory,  while  he  looked  re- 
proachfully at  his  friend,  Storm,  for  having  ruffled 
the  feelings  of  the  irritable  Morgan,  "  I  am  sure 
Jack's  heart  is  in  the  right  place,  Ralph,  even  if  he 

33 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U,  S.  ARMT 

does  not  as  yet  view  things  from  the  same  angle  as 
you  and  I." 

"  Have  you  been  in  France  yet  at  all.  Jack?  "  he 
then  inquired. 

"No  such  luck!"  growled  Morgan,  "and  I'm 
heartily  sick  of  the  job  I've  had  ever  since  crossing 
over  here,  and  just  about  ready  to  throw  it  over- 
board." 

"  It  is  a  pity  that  you  have  not  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  spend  a  little  time  with  the  boys  in  France. 
I  believe  that  if  you  had,  your  opinions  would 
change  somewhat,"  said  Van. 

"  In  what  way?  "  demanded  Morgan. 

"  I  think  that  you  would  then  realize,"  replied 
Van  Home,  "  that  America  came  into  this  war  be- 
cause she  saw  that  it  was  a  battle  of  honor  against 
perfidy,  of  freedom  against  despotism,  and  because 
the  peace  which  she  desires  can  be  obtained  only  by 
striking  down  the  great  enemy  of  peace,  and  not 
wholly  for  the  selfish  reasons  you  attribute  to  her, 
Jack." 

"  Yes,  Morgan,"  interposed  Storm,  "  and  I  too 
feel  sure  that  if  you  had  a  chance  to  use  your  eyes 
and  ears  in  France,  as  we  have  had,  you  also  would 
see  the  light,  and  begin  to  fight  for  gallant  bleeding 
France  because  of  the  justice  of  her  cause,  and 
would  realize  that  that  cause  is  also  the  cause  of  the 
Allies,  and  of  America." 

34 


JACK  MORGAN 

"  Haven't  I  just  told  you  that  I  believe  it  is  now 
our  cause?  What  do  you  suppose  I  gave  my  little 
flivver  to  the  Government  for,  and  joined  the  navy 
myself?  I  am  not  yet  of  draft  age,  and  was  not 
obliged  to  join.  I  hope  you  fellows  don't  think 
that  I'm  in  uniform  because  I  was  afraid  of  being 
forced  into  it? " 

"  No  one  who  knows  you  as  well  as  we  do.  Jack, 
could  doubt  your  courage  for  a  minute,  if  that  is 
what  you  mean,"  answered  Lieutenant  Van  Home; 
"  but  what  did  you  mean  by  saying  just  now 
that  you  were  thinking  of  giving  up  your  job? 
We  know  that  you  are  no  quitter.  What's  the 
trouble? " 

"  Why,  I  think  it  ought  to  be  great  fun,  with  a 
lot  of  excitement  thrown  in,  to  be  in  command  of 
a  *  flivver,'  as  the  service  calls  the  smaller  class  of 
patrol  boats  such  as  yours,"  said  Storm  in  his  turn. 

"  Besides,  the  work  they  do  is  a  very  important 
one,  and  I  am  told  that  no  destroyers  that  have  ever 
been  built  keep  the  sea  better  than  those  same  little 
flivvers  that  we  have  been  sending  over  in  such 
numbers." 

"  Important,  yes,  there's  no  doubt  of  that,  al- 
though thus  far  it  has  seemed  to  me  like  the  work 
of  a  park  policeman.  As  for  excitement,  there 
simply  isn't  any,  unless  you  call  it  exciting  to  be 
always  on  the  lookout  for  what  never  seems  to 

35 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

turn  up.  Spotting  every  object  on  the  waves,  from 
a  chip  to  a  whale,  on  the  chance  of  seeing  a  peri- 
scope, is  about  as  interesting  as  looking  for  a  needle 
in  a  haystack,"  replied  Morgan. 

"  Why,  do  you  Imow,  fellows,"  he  contmued,  "  in 
the  whole  three  months  that  I  have  been  chasing 
that  flivver  around  in  these  European  waters  I  have 
never  even  seen  the  trace  of  a  U-boat,  nor  the  sus- 
picion of  a  periscope.  It's  the  fearful  dreary 
monotony  of  it  all  that's  getting  on  my  nerves.  I 
never  had  much  patience,  anyway,  and  I  feel  that  I 
can't  stand  it  any  longer." 

"  You  astonish  me.  Jack,"  said  Van.  "  Some- 
how or  other  I  have  always  had  the  idea  that  you 
chaps  were  continually  chasing  in  the  wake  of  some 
one  or  the  other  of  those  yellow  tin  sharks." 

"  Where  in  the  world  have  you  been  stationed, 
and  what  have  you  been  doing  all  this  time,  then?  " 
queried  Storm. 

"  Until  yesterday,  when  I  was  ordered  back  to 
England  to  dock  for  overhauling — though  why 
there  was  any  need  for  it  I  haven't  the  faintest 
idea — and  to  await  further  orders  before  putting  to 
sea  again,  I  was  for  two  weeks  loafing  about  the 
entrance  to  a  French  harbor — ^just  loafing  about, 
and  never  able  to  land  because  of  orders — and  that's 
the  nearest  I  have  been  to  France  yet,"  grumbled 
Junior  Naval  Lieutenant  John  Morgan. 

36 


JACK  MORGAN 

"  Nevertheless  you  must  have  been  stationed 
there  for  some  definite  purpose,  Jack? "  queried 
Van  Home. 

"  I  was.  I  had  orders  to  stick  around  and  go  to 
the  rescue  of  any  naval  hydroplanes,  if  any  of  them 
should  get  into  trouble  while  out  scouting.  Why, 
even  my  crew  were  fed  up  with  the  job,  to  a 
man!" 

"  But  you  must  have  had  some  more  exciting  ex- 
periences than  that?  "  laughed  Lieutenant  Storm. 

"  Why,  for  three  weeks  previous  to  that,"  pro- 
tested Morgan,  "  I  was  leading  a  fleet  of  steam 
trawlers,  skippered  by  old  deep-sea  fishing  captains. 
We  were  stationed  just  outside  of  one  of  the  Eng- 
lish harbors  then,  and  it  was  our  special  duty  to 
sweep  up  the  waters  for  enemy's  mines  day  after 
day,  in  order  to  make  sure  that  the  entrance  to  the 
harbor  was  always  clear  of  them,  and  so  rendered 
safe  for  shipping  incoming  and  outgoing." 

"  I  should  think  that  fishing  for  live  mines  would 
have  been  risky  enough  business  to  suit  anybody. 
Wasn't  that  dangerous  enough  work  to  suit  you? " 
asked  Van. 

"Dangerous  enough,  yes!"  replied  Morgan, 
"  but  still  more  monotonous  than  the  last  job.  And 
before  that  I  was  engaged  on  cross-channel  convoy 
duty." 

"  Well  now,  Morgan,  I  am  sure  that  that  at  least 

37 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

must  have  been  interesting  work,"  chuckled  Storm, 
who,  knowing  of  old  that  their  former  schoolmate 
was  a  chronic  grumbler  with  a  perennial  grouch, 
rather  enjoyed  drawing  him  out. 

"  Huh!  "  snorted  Morgan,  "  it's  easy  to  see  that 
you  don't  know  anything  about  it.  The  transports 
full  of  doughboys  move  across  the  ocean  between 
a  line  of  cruisers  for  all  the  world  like  a  wedding 
procession — and  almost  as  safe  at  that — coming 
down  a  church  aisle  escorted  by  the  ushers. 

"At  a  certain  appointed  point  of  latitude  and 
longitude  over  on  this  side  we  small  fry  of  the  mos- 
quito fleet  go  out  and  meet  them.  We  salute  and 
wigwag,  and  the  big  gray  cruisers  fade  away  like 
ghosts  into  the  mists.  At  the  same  time,  if  you 
wanted  to  risk  a  crick  in  the  back  of  your  neck,  you 
could  look  up  and  see  some  small  specks  flying 
about  in  the  sky  miles  overhead;  those  would  be  the 
watching  hydroplanes.  They  say  that  the  higher 
up  they  are,  the  farther  down  into  the  water  they 


can  see." 


"  That's  certainly  fine.  Jack,  and  your  descrip- 
tion is  almost  poetic,"  interrupted  Van  seriously. 
"  I  just  wish  that  I  might  accompany  you  on  one 
of  those  trips." 

"Poetic!  Who,  me?"  ejaculated  the  sailor, 
eyeing  the  last  speaker  quizzically  to  see  if  he  really 
meant  what  he  was  saying  or  not.     Then  being 

38 


JACK  MORGAN 

satisfied  that  Van  Home  was  not  chaffing  him,  he 
resumed: 

"All  right  for  the  first  time  or  so,  maybe!  But 
once  the  transports  steam  safely  into  harbor  don't 
imagine  that  we  also  are  allowed  to  tie  up  at  the 
wharves  for  a  bit  of  a  change  and  pleasure  ashore. 
No  such  luck!  That's  not  on  the  program.  We 
just  nose  out  to  sea  again,  and  repeat  the  per- 
formance over  and  over,  for  the  transports  are  ar- 
riving in  a  constant  stream  nowadays,  you  know. 
That's  what  makes  it  so  all-fired  monotonous." 

"  I  dare  say  that  the  constant  repetition  must 
pall  upon  one,"  acquiesced  Ralph. 

"  You  would  appreciate  the  truth  of  what  I  say 
about  it  if  you  could  but  make  even  one  trip  with 
me.  I  am  sure  that  you  would  not  then  be  sur- 
prised at  my  desire  for  a  change.  And,  by  the 
way,  now  that  I  have  happened  to  think  of  it,  why 
can't  you  two  come  out  with  me  on  my  next  trip  ?  " 
demanded  Morgan  warmly,  and  then  continued: 

"  There's  no  reason  really  why  you  should  not, 
even  if  we  are  not  supposed  to  take  passengers 
aboard." 

"  Do  you  really  mean  that,  Jack,  or  are  you  just 
fooling? "  queried  Van. 

"  I  really  mean  it.  I'd  like  very  much  to  have 
both  of  you  fellows  come  along  with  me,"  answered 
the  young  sailor. 

39 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

"  I  am  not  sure  for  the  next  two  or  three  days 
just  when  I'll  have  to  put  to  sea  again,  nor  to  what 
duty  I  may  next  be  assigned;  but  I  could  let  you 
know  an  hour  or  two  ahead  of  time." 

"  What  do  you  say,  Ralph? "  queried  Van 
Home. 

"  I  am  sure  that  I'd  just  be  delighted  to  go,"  an- 
swered the  latter.  "  We'll  have  plenty  of  leisure 
time  on  our  hands  for  the  next  few  days,  I  expect." 

"All  right  then.  That  settles  it.  Where  can  I 
let  you  know  when  I  have  orders  to  sail? "  de- 
manded Morgan. 

"  We  are  staying  at  Claridge's,"  answered  Lieu- 
tenant Van  Home. 

"  It  will  have  to  be  on  my  next  assignment  or 
not  at  all,"  added  Morgan,  "  for  that  in  all  prob- 
ability will  be  my  very  last  trip." 

"  Have  you  then  actually  made  arrangements  to 
leave  the  service?  "  questioned  Storm  in  surprise. 

"  I  have  formally  applied  for  a  transfer  to  the 
'  Tanks,' "  answered  the  naval  lieutenant  obsti- 
nately, "  and  if  my  request  is  not  allowed  I  have 
made  up  my  mind  to  resign  my  commission  out- 
right.    I  still  possess  that  privilege,  at  any  rate." 

"  The  tanks  ?  What  tanks  ?  The  United  States 
have  no  tanks  as  yet,  have  they?"  asked  Van  Home. 

"  No,  not  yet;  but  they  are  building  them,"  re- 
plied Morgan. 

40 


JACK  MORGAN 

"And  a  detail  of  officers  from  our  navy  is  about 
to  be  sent  to  one  of  the  British  training  quarters 
for  *  Tanks,'  to  learn  how  to  run  them,  and  all 
about  them.  There  ought  to  be  some  fun  in 
running  a  tank  over  there  in  France." 

"  There  surely  is,"  commented  Storm  dryly. 
"  My  platoon  had  occasion  to  work  with  one  of 
them  not  more  than  three  weeks  ago.  They  are 
certainly  some  machines,  now  I  can  tell  you." 

"  But  I  am  afraid  they  have  turned  down  my 
application,"  pursued  Morgan  discontentedly. 
"  That  would  be  just  like  my  luck.  I  have  no  one 
over  here  with  any  influence  to  put  in  a  word  for 
me,  and  there  are  a  good  many  more  fellows  apply- 
ing than  there  are  places  on  the  detail.  I  put  in 
my  application  over  two  weeks  ago,  and  have  heard 
nothing  from  it  yet." 

"  I  say,  Ralph,  what's  the  matter  with  your  writ- 
ing to  your  father,  and  asking  him  to  put  in  a  good 
word  for  Jack,  since  he  has  set  his  heart  on  making 
this  change? "  asked  Van. 

"  I  could  do  that  with  pleasure,  although  I  don't 
know  whether  it  will  do  any  good,"  acquiesced 
Storm. 

"  I  am  sure  it  will,"  interposed  the  young  sailor 
eagerly. 

"All  that  will  be  necessary  to  turn  the  trick,  will 
be  to  have  the  attention  of  our  Headquarters  spe- 

41 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

cially  directed  to  my  application ;  there  is  no  reason 
why  they  should  not  appoint  me  to  the  detail." 

"All  right  then,  I'll  write  to  Dad  about  it  to- 
night." 

"  That's  awfully  good  of  you,  Ralph,  and  I 
shan't  forget  it,"  said  Morgan,  warmly  grasping 
Storm's  hand. 

"  What's  the  matter  with  going  for  an  omnibus 
ride?  "  interrupted  Van  Home.  "  This  is  too  fine 
a  day  to  stay  inside,  and  we  can  talk  just  as  well  on 
the  roof  of  a  bus  as  in  here." 

"Good  idea!"  agreed  Morgan.  "They  go 
slowly  enough  to  give  a  fellow  a  good  chance  to 
see  the  city,  and  take  in  the  sights." 

"  Where  shall  we  go?  "  demanded  Storm,  rising, 
as  did  the  other  two. 

"  Let's  just  take  the  first  omnibus  that  comes 
along,  and  go  to  the  end  of  the  line,"  suggested  Van. 
"  We  have  loads  of  time." 

"  Right  oh !  "  chorused  the  others. 


42 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  SECOND  IN  COMMAND 

*'For  the  wild  North  Sea,  the  hleak  North  Sea 
Threshes  and  seethes  so  endlessly.'* 

There  followed  days  of  waiting  for  Van  and 
Ralph  Storm,  but  they  were  far  from  eventless. 
For  one  of  them  the  Germans  chose  for  a  cruel  air 
raid  on  London,  and  the  boys  will  never  forget  the 
horror  of  those  hours  during  which  a  public  school 
was  bombed  and  helpless  children  killed  and 
maimed.  And  on  another  day,  as  if  in  stern  answer, 
came  the  arrival  of  the  first  American  troops,  their 
parade  through  London  and  their  review  by  the 
King.  Morgan  joined  the  others,  and  the  three 
friends  were  fortunately  recognized  by  an  officer 
who  gave  them  a  place  near  the  reviewing  party  in 
front  of  Buckingham  Palace.  It  was  a  glorious 
day. 

On  their  way  back  to  Claridge's  Hotel,  the 
three  stopped  for  lunch  at  a  restaurant.  There 
they  fell  to  discussing  further  their  proposed  brief 
trip  to  sea. 

Morgan  professed  to  be  still  discontented  with 

43 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

his  lot.  Had  Van  and  Storm  been  left  to  form, 
from  that  yomig  sailor's  accomit  alone,  their  opin- 
ion of  the  service  being  rendered  by  the  mosquito 
fleet  of  American  motor-boats  and  destroyers,  they 
might  have  been  pardoned  for  believing  that  the 
work  of  these  boats  was  not  very  hazardous,  and  of 
little  assistance  in  the  maintenance  of  "  The  Free- 
dom of  the  Seas." 

To  know,  however,  the  real  part  that  those  small 
craft  were  playing  against  the  nefarious  form  of 
submarine  warfare  that  the  enemy  was  waging,  one 
would  have  had  to  do  more  even  than  merely  dip 
into  the  log-books  of  some  of  the  American  des- 
troyers engaged  on  anti-submarine  patrols.  In 
one  of  those  log-books,  opposite  a  certain  date,  one 
might  have  read  some  such  entry  as  this: 

"  Shortly  after  dawn  we  engaged  and  sank  by 
gun-fire  an  enemy  U-boat.  We  rescued  and  took 
on  board  eight  of  her  crew.  She  was  of  the  latest 
type,  armed  with  two  six-inch  guns,  and  had  a  crew 
of  twenty-three." 

But  to  know  what  really  happened  you  would 
have  had  to  put  to  sea  with  the  destroyer ;  you  would 
have  had  to  feel  the  smack  of  the  sea  air  off  the 
foreland  at  dawn,  as  she  crept  around  under  the 
lee  of  the  misty  cliffs,  her  lookouts  gazing  unwink- 
ingly  over  the  measureless  waste  of  turbulent  black 
waters. 

44 


THE  SECOND  IN  tOMMAND 

To  realize  the  anxious  and  arduous  life  that  her 
crew  were  living  from  day  to  day,  and  taking  all  as 
merely  a  part  of  the  day's  work,  with  no  thought  of 
the  unconscious  heroism  of  it  all,  you  must  have 
gone  down  to  wallow  with  them  and  with  her  in 
the  cavernous  troughs  of  the  mountainous  seas ;  you 
must  have  heaved  and  tossed  about  and  panted  for 
air  in  the  narrow  confines  of  her  cabin  reeking  with 
the  stench  of  burning  lamp-oil.  And  this  you  must 
have  done  while  she  buffeted  her  blind  way  through 
the  darkness  far  from  the  friendly  shore  lights,  un- 
able to  distinguish  anything  anywhere,  when  all 
that  you  could  do  was  to  sit  tight  and  pray  for 
morning  light  and  calm. 

And  then  to  get  to  grips  with  the  adventure  and 
hazard  of  it  all,  when  morning  had  scarcely  yet 
dawned  and  the  troubled  sea  had  not  yet  wholly 
subsided,  you  must  have  been  aboard  her  when  she 
caught  sight  of  the  desperate  enemy,  and  swung 
about  just  in  time — and  only  just  in  time,  to  escape 
the  torpedo  that  scraped  her  side.  You  must  have 
felt  the  thrill  of  eternity  weaken  your  spine  when 
the  staunch  little  boat  turned  then,  and  made  to  ram 
the  sea-snake,  and  overrode  the  reptile  as  it  dived. 

And  finally  to  share  in  the  moment  of  victory, 
that  is  the  sufficient  reward  to  her  devoted  crew  for 
all  they  have  endured,  you  must  have  been  present 
on  the  deck  of  the  plucky  little  destroyer  when  a 

45 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

few  moments  later  the  submarine's  reappearance 
was  greeted  with  a  salvo  of  shells  from  the  vicious 
little  six-inchers,  and  her  crew  began  to  scramble 
out  along  the  iron  hull,  their  hands  above  thejr 
heads  and  screaming  for  aid,  ere  the  submarine 
plimged  into  the  depths  for  her  very  last  dive. 

And  the  whole  night-long  thrilling  adventure 
would  at  last  be  sunmied  up  and  dismissed  in  a  bald 
and  bare  entry  of  two  lines  in  the  destroyer's  log- 
book, as  just  above  quoted. 

But  this  very  willingness  of  the  United  States  of 
America  to  lay  aside  for  a  time  their  natural  ambi- 
tion to  lead,  that  they  might  play  the  very  strongest 
and  most  serviceable  part  in  the  titanic  struggle 
then  going  on,  indicated  the  trend  of  the  new  Amer- 
ican thought.  The  somnolent  young  giant  among 
the  nations  had  aroused  himself  from  the  easy  self- 
satisfied  contemplation  of  his  own  growth. 

The  message  that  Jack  Morgan  had  brought  to 
Van  Home  and  Storm  at  the  hotel  just  before  they 
went  out  to  see  the  parade  was  that  he  was  going  to 
put  to  sea  again  that  night  sometime  before  mid- 
night. He  had  run  up  from  Dover  to  London  to 
see  the  parade,  and  to  deliver  this  message  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  promise  he  had  made  them  some 
days  before,  and  to  repeat  the  invitation  he  had  then 
given  the  two  lieutenants  to  accompany  him. 

"  There's  something  big  on,"  he  said  as  they 

46 


THE  SECOND  IN  COMMAND 

hastily  consumed  their  coffee  and  hot  rolls  at  the 
restaurant.  "  Just  what  it  is,  I  couldn't  tell  you 
even  if  I  wanted  to.  All  I  know  is,  that  a  dozen  or 
so  other  flivvers  besides  my  own  reported  at  Dover 
for  overhauling  about  the  same  time,  and  have  been 
laid  up  there  for  that  purpose  ever  since.  All  of 
our  engines  have  been  especially  tuned  up. 

"  To-day  we  all  got  the  same  notification.  I 
know  several  of  the  officers  in  command  of  the  other 
boats,  and  they  all  have  the  same  brief  notice;  but 
none  of  them  as  yet  knows  any  more  than  I  do. 

"  We  have  also  all  received  orders  to  report  for 
final  instructions  at  seven  o'clock  this  evening,"  he 
continued,  "  and  it's  altogether  likely  that  after 
that  we  shall  have  to  go  aboard  our  several  craft, 
and  wait  there  for  the  signal  to  weigh  anchor.  So 
if  you  wish  to  come  out  on  this  trip  you  had  better 
come  down  to  Dover  with  me  on  the  next  train. 


Scale  of  Miles      ^ 

(^  2p  40 


Ostcnd 
BELGIUM 


\ 


DOVEE  AND  OTHEE  CHANNEL  POETS 


"  Somehow  or  other,  I  think  that  this  is  going  to 

47 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

be  a  bit  more  interesting  than  usual;  I  have  a  notion 
that  it  is  some  special  convoy  work,  but  I  am  not 
certain  about  it. '  In  any  case  you  will  have  to  put 
up  with  a  tedious  wait  of  some  hours  at  anchor  in 
the  harbor.  But  that  can't  be  helped ;  the  waiting 
stuff  is  all  part  of  the  game,"  he  concluded. 

"  What's  the  next  train  for  Dover?  "  asked  Van, 
looking  at  his  watch. 

"  Three-fifteen,"  replied  Morgan.  "  It's  now 
nearly  two  o'clock,  so  we  haven't  much  time  to  spare 
if  you  fellows  wish  to  go  to  your  hotel  first." 

"  What  shall  we  bring  with  us? "  asked  Storm, 
rising  from  the  table,  as  did  the  other  two. 

"  You'd  better  each  bring  a  sweater  to  wear 
under  your  jackets,"  replied  the  sailor.  "  Both  the 
Channel  and  the  North  Sea  get  pretty  cold  at 
night. 

"And  you  had  better  bring  your  water-proof 
coat,  Van,"  he  added.  "  I  am  afraid  there  is  not 
an  oilskin  on  board  large  enough  to  fit  you,  in  case 
there  should  come  on  a  blow  before  we  get  back." 

At  Dover  the  three  young  officers  boarded  a  navy 
launch,  and  were  speedily  conveyed  out  to  where 
Morgan's  trim  little  yacht  lay  at  anchor  in  line  with 
a  number  of  other  similar  craft.  There  he  made 
them  acquainted  with  his  second  in  command,  a 
middle-aged  sailor,  Ned  Harkness  by  name,  who 
by  the  crossed  anchors  on  his  sleeve  they  knew  to  be 

48 


THE  SECOND  IN  COMMAND 

a  boatswain's  mate.  Then  Morgan  left  his  two 
companions,  while  he  reported  ashore  for  final 
orders  and  instructions. 

More  than  two  hours  elapsed  ere  the  young  lieu- 
tenant returned.  That  interval  Van  and  Storm 
passed  very  agreeably  in  the  company  of  the  boat- 
swain's mate.  Harkness  was  a  very  intelligent 
man.  He  had  sailed  out  of  nearly  all  ports  of 
the  world  in  his  time.  He  knew  ships  from  keel 
to  masthead,  from  the  stealthy  submarine  to  the 
majestic  super-dreadnought,  and  what  was  more, 
could  talk  interestingly  about  them  all. 

They  first  of  all  accompanied  him  over  the  curi- 
ously camouflaged  little  motor-boat.  Often  Hark- 
ness patted  affectionately  some  part  of  the  little 
motor  patrol  with  his  horny  palm,  just  as  a  lands- 
man might  have  caressed  a  horse  or  some  other 
living,  sentient  pet  that  could  feel  the  caress,  as  he 
did  so  making  some  such  remark  as: 

"  She's  a  staunch  little  lady!  "  when  praising  her 
seagoing  qualities; 

"  She  can  show  'em  a  pretty  pair  o'  heels !  "  when 
speaking  of  her  speed,  or; 

"  She  has  teeth  too,  the  precious  little  vixen!"/ 
when  displaying  to  the  two  friends  her  tiny  arma- 
ment. ^ 

When  Harkness  uncovered  reverently  the  slender 
rifled  gun  at  the  bow.  Storm  asked: 

49 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

"  Who's  your  guiiner? " 

"  I  am,"  replied  Harkness  proudly.  "  I  have 
worn  the  crossed  cannons  of  a  gunner's  mate  more 
than  once  m  my  tune;  but  I've  had  no  chance  to 
test  this  little  barker  yet.  I  suppose  Lieutenant 
Morgan  has  explained  to  you  how  that  happens. 
But  it  looks  as  if  there  might  be  something  doing 
this  trip,  though." 

"  What  makes  you  think  so?  "  asked  Van. 

"  For  several  reasons,"  answered  Harkness. 
"  For  one,  our  old  common  shells  were  to-day 
exchanged  for  a  supply  of  the  new  diving 
shells." 

"  Diving  shells? "  queried  Van;  "  I  never  heard 
of  them  before.     Wliat  are  they?  " 

"  I'll  just  show  you  one,"  said  Harkness,  extract- 
ing one  of  the  new  shells  from  a  locker. 

He  then  proceeded  to  point  out  a  new  feature  on 
these  shells,  explaining  how  certain  grooves  or 
flanges  caused  the  missile  to  sink  into  the  water  in- 
stead of  ricocheting,  or  bounding,  as  the  ordinary 
shell  was  most  likely  to  do  when  fired  at  such  a 
low-lying  target  as  the  submarine. 

"  I've  often  known  one  of  the  common  shells  to 
travel  more  than  a  mile  through  the  air  after  bound- 
ing from  the  surface,  before  hitting  the  water 
again,"  he  added.  "  So  you  see  what  an  improve- 
ment these  new  diving  shells  must  be." 

50 


THE  SECOND  IN  COMMAND 

"  But  don't  you  always  aim  at  the  periscope  of 
a  submarine? "  queried  Storm. 

"  Not  always,"  smiled  the  boatswain's  mate. 
"  You  see  the  periscope's  a  mighty  small  target. 
Even  if  it  is  from  eighteen  to  twenty  feet  high,  it 
is  for  the  most  part  only  a  five-inch  pipe." 

"  Have  you  ever  sailed  on  a  submarine,  Ned? " 
asked  Van. 

"Aye,  that  I  have !  But  it's  not  me  that's  hanker- 
ing for  a  berth  on  one  again,"  replied  Harkness 
significantly. 

"About  how  far  can  you  see  a  ship  through  a 
periscope? "  queried  Van  Home  curiously. 

"  That  all  depends  on  how  far  out  of  the  water 
the  periscope  is  sticking  up.  If  it  is  just  barely 
showing  above  the  top  of  the  water  it  could  spot  a 
battle  cruiser  a  mile  away,  and  if  it  were  pretty 
nearly  all  the  way  up  out  of  the  water — say  about 
sixteen  feet  of  it — it  could  see  her  about  five  miles 
away." 

"  So  far  as  that?  "  ejaculated  Ralph  in  surprised 
accents.  "  I  had  no  idea  that  they  could  see  any- 
thing like  that  distance.     Had  you,  Van?  " 

"  No,  that's  a  new  one  on  me,  too,"  replied  Van 
as  they  started  to  follow  Harkness  aft  to  where  the 
depth  bombs  were  fastened  to  the  stem. 

There  the  boatswain's  mate  explained  the  ap- 
paratus for  carrying  and  discharging  the  depth 

51 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

bombs.  He  pointed  out  the  levers  by  pulling  one 
by  which  a  bomb  could  be  instantly  dropped  into  the 
sea  astern. 

"  Is  there  no  danger  of  them  exploding  too  soon, 
before  your  own  boat  has  got  far  enough  away  from 
them? "  asked  Storm. 

"  Not  if  you  are  careful,"  answered  Harkness, 
"  and  have  set  them  to  explode  at  a  proper 
depth." 

At  the  same  time  he  pointed  out  to  them  the 
regulating  device  attached  to  the  bombs,  and  ex- 
plained how  this  could  be  set  to  explode  the  bomb 
at  any  required  depth  below  the  surface. 

"  I  know  that  you  need  not  necessarily  make  a 
direct  hit  with  one  of  them  in  order  to  get  results," 
observed  Van. 

"  But  how  close  must  you  get  to  a  submarine  with 
one  of  those  bombs  to  damage  it  effectively? "  he 
asked. 

"  Each  one  of  them,"  replied  Harkness,  pointing 
to  the  bombs  in  question,  "  is  loaded  with  two  hun- 
dred pounds  of  *  T.  N.  T.' ' — and  they  are  the  small 
size;  the  bigger  boats  carry  much  larger  ones. 
Even  at  that,  the  force  of  their  explosion  under 
water  is  something  enormous.  It's  good-night 
U-boat,  if  one  of  them  explodes  anywhere  within  a 
hundred  feet  of  it." 

*  Trinitrotoluol — high  explosive. 
52 


THE  SECOND  IN  COMMAND 

"  Have  you  ever  seen  them  used,  Ned? "  asked 
Storm  eagerly. 

"  Aye,  sir,  many  a  time!  "  replied  the  latter.  "  I 
was  serving  on  a  U.  S.  destroyer  just  before  I  was 
detailed  to  help  Lieutenant  Morgan  aboard  this 
tight  little  craft." 

"  Would  you  mind  telling  us,"  pursued  Ralph, 
"  just  how  you  set  about  attacking  a  subma- 
rine? " 

"  Why,  sir,  we  just  goes  at  her  head-on  at  full 
speed,  a-firin'  from  the  bow-chasers  as  we  goes.  If 
we  don't  hit  her,  and  are  a  little  distance  away  from 
her  when  she  first  sees  us,  she'll  likely  have  plenty 
o'  time  to  dive,  for  it  takes  one  of  them  only  about 
three  minutes  to  disappear." 

"  In  that  case  we  keeps  right  on  and  drops  a 
bomb  just  over  the  spot  where  she  went  down,  and 
then  we  turns,  in  case  that  was  not  enough,  and 
cuts  across  the  track  in  which  she  was  heading  when 
she  dove,  and  watch  for  her  trail  of  bubbles  or  oil 
along  the  surface  to  get  a  line  on  a  likely  spot  to 
drop  another  bomb." 

As  they  were  making  their  way  aft  again  Van 
called  the  attention  of  the  boatswain's  mate  to  some 
unpainted  boxes  pierced  witH  many  small  holes, 
which  were  strung  along  the  deck  on  both  sides  of 
the  boat. 

"  What  are  those  for? "  he  demanded.     "  From 

53 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

the  way  they  are  ventilated  with  holes  one  might 
think  you  had  some  kind  of  live  stock  in  them." 

"  They  furnish  another  reason  why  I  think  there 
are  to  be  some  big  doings  to-night,"  answered 
Harkness. 

"  Those  are  smoke-boxes,"  he  continued.  "They 
were  brought  aboard  just  to-day  also.  The  boxes 
are  filled  with  chemicals,  and  when  they  are  thrown 
overboard  the  water  rushes  in  through  the  holes, 
and  then  a  heavy  thick  white  smoke  is  produced. 
If  enough  of  them  are  thrown  overboard  to  leeward 
the  ship — or,  for  that  matter,  a  whole  fleet — can 
be  hidden  just  as  if  in  a  dense  fog." 

"  That's  even  better  than  our  method  of  produc- 
ing a  smoke-cloud  from  the  trenches,"  commented 
Storm. 

"  How  do  you  soldiers  make  it,  sir,  if  I  might 
ask? "  queried  the  boatswain's  mate  respectfully,  in 
his  turn. 

"  We  fill  empty  ammunition  boxes  with  coal-dust, 
petrol  and  tallow.  Then  we  push  them  over  the 
top  of  the  parapet  when  the  wind  is  right,  and  set 
them  off  by  means  of  fuses. 

"  Then  we  have  what  we  call  *  Fumite  Candles ' 
too.  They  are  made  of  cardboard  tubes  filled  with 
the  same  kind  of  stuff  as  the  smoke-boxes.  We 
stick  them  up  over  the  top  of  the  parapet  in  groups 
of  three,  and  light  them  with  matches." 

54 


THE  SECOND  IN  COMMAND 


Harkness  then  led  them  to  the  small  cabin  to 
show  them  the  yacht's  arsenal  of  small  arms ;  rifles 
with  their  long  straight  bayonets  attached,  re- 
volvers, and  even  some  of  the  old-time  cutlasses. 
These  decorated  all  four  of  the  walls.  Our  two 
friends,  however,  were  not  as  interested  in  these  as 
they  had  been  in  the  little  vessel's  outside  armament. 
There  was  nothing  novel  to  them  about  the  small- 
arms  equipment. 

Before  leaving  the  cabin  Ned  Harkness,  who 
had  at  the  very  moment  of  Van 
Home's  coming  aboard  noticed  the 
ribbon  of  the  V.  C.  on  the  breast 
of  his  coat,  and  had  ever  since  been 
aching  to  ask  about  it,  could  restrain 
himself  no  longer,  and  blurted  out  in 
an  apologetic  tone,  addressing  the 
big  American  youth: 

"  Pardon  me,  sir,  but  I  noticed 
your  decoration  when  you  boarded 
us,  and  naturally  I'm  mighty  proud 
to  see  an  American  wearing  it,  and  I 
am  curious  about  it  too.  I  hopes  as  how  you'll  not 
think  I'm  makin'  too  bold,  sir,  but  would  you  mind 
telling  me  a  bit  about  it,  sir? " 

Lieutenant  Van  Home  smiled  good-naturedly 
at  the  diffidently  respectful,  yet  independent, 
manner  in  which  this  experienced  Yankee  sailor 

55 


The  Victoria 
Ceoss  or  "V.  C. 

The   decoration 
worn  by  Van. 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  5.  ^RMT 

thus  appealed  to  him  and  was  about  to  reply,  when 
Storm  took  the  word  from  him,  saying  hastily: 

"  I'll  tell  you  about  it,  Ned.  I  know  all  about 
it,  for  it  was  partly  in  saving  my  life  that  he  won 
it." 

Storm  then  launched  forth  into  a  glowing  ac- 
count of  the  action  in  which  Rodman  Van  Home, 
at  that  time  only  a  sergeant-major  in  the  Canadian 
Expeditionary  Force,  had  won  his  commission  as  a 
lieutenant  and  the  Victoria  Cross  at  the  same  time, 
while  his  big  friend,  embarrassed,  stood  by  and 
listened. 

Toward  the  last  Storm  particularly  dwelt  upon 
the  grievous  nature  of  the  wounds  which  the  big 
fellow  had  himself  received  on  that  occasion,  and 
the  wonder  of  his  complete  recovery  therefrom 
at  all. 

When  he  had  at  length  concluded,  the  sailor 
gazed  at  Van  with  great  admiration  showing  in  his 
keen  gray  eyes,  and  said: 

"That  was  fine,  sir,  simply  fine!  I  wish  I'd 
been  there  to  see  it." 

"And  ain't  it  simply  wonderful,  sir,"  pursued 
Harkness,  "  what  a  man  can  go  through  sometimes 
and  still  live  to  tell  of  it?  A  few  of  us  had  a  turn 
last  winter  that  I  wouldn't  have  believed  any  man 
could  pull  through  with  his  life,  if  I  had  not  been 
one  of  the  bunch." 

56 


THE  SECOND  IN  COMMAND 

"  Tell  us  about  that,  Ned,"  demanded  Storm  at 
once. 

"  You  don't  know  how  those  tales  of  the  sea  in- 
terest us  soldiers.  They  are  all  so  different  from 
the  things  that  happen  to  us." 

"  There  was  nothing  very  exciting  about  it,  sir. 
That  is  to  say,  about  the  part  I  had  in  mind  when 
I  made  that  remark  just  now.  It  was  that  matter 
of  human  endurance  I  was  thinking  about. 

"  It  happened  in  the  North  Sea  last  winter," 
Harkness  continued.  "As  I  think  I  have  already 
told  you,  I  was  then  serving  as  gunner's  mate  on 
one  of  Uncle  Sam's  destroyers. 

"  For  more  than  a  week  the  weather  had  been  as 
steadily  cold  as  it  ever  gets  in  that  cold  North  Sea, 
and  you've  said  a  mouthful  when  you've  said  that, 
I  can  tell  you.  Every  vessel  above  the  water-line 
was  shrouded  with  a  coat  of  white  ice  inches  thick. 

"  The  night  the  convoy  was  attacked  by  the  sub- 
marines was  as  black  as  the  inside  of  a  squaw's 
pocket.  Just  how  many  of  the  U-boats  there  were 
I  don't  know;  but  there  must  have  been  half  a 
dozen  at  least.  We  of  the  protecting  destroyers 
got  into  action  as  quickly  as  might  be;  but  not  be- 
fore one  of  the  largest  of  the  liners  was  twice  tor- 
pedoed. She  got  'em  both  at  almost  the  same  in- 
stant, one  aft  and  the  other  amidships,  and  she  went 
down  like  a  stone. 

57 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

"  Our  skipper,  a  lieutenant  of  the  Naval  Reserve 
not  much  older  than  either  of  you  gentlemen,  I 
should  say,"  continued  Harkness  with  an  involun- 
tary shiver  at  the  recollection,  "  steamed  right  into 
the  mess  and  switched  on  his  search-light.  Of 
course  it  showed  us  up  against  the  night,  and  made 
us  an  easy  mark  for  another  torpedo. 

"And  we  got  it;  but  not  before  we  were  right 
among  the  castaways  of  the  liner.  We  could  hear 
their  voices  out  of  the  gloom,  the  voices  of  men 
whose  blood  was  already  thick  with  cold,  as  you 
might  say.  And  then  the  next  instant  we  was 
floundering  in  the  ice-cold  water  among  them,  grop- 
ing and  splashing  about  in  the  darkness  with  no 
sense  of  anything  but  to  keep  above  water. 

"  Other  destroyers  dashed  to  the  rescue,  their 
search-lights  flashing  as  recklessly  as  ours  had  been. 
Their  lights  began  to  pick  us  out,  but  it  was  all  a 
mere  matter  of  chance,  sir.  The  beams  might 
sweep  right  in  front  of  a  man,  and  yet  miss  him 
altogether. 

"  One  of  the  rays  flashed  over  me,  and  the  end  of 
a  rope  splashed  in  the  water  in  front  of  me.  I 
managed  to  get  hold  of  it,  and  began  to  pull  it  to- 
ward me.  It  yielded,  and  I  kept  on  pulling  it  to 
me  hand  over  hand,  thinking  all  the  time  that  in 
the  darkness  the  boat  from  which  it  led  was  drift- 
ing down  upon  me,  you  see." 

58 


THE  SECOND  IN  COMMAND 

Ned  Harlaiess  paused,  gulped  with  emotion  at 
the  recollection,  and  heaved  a  deep  breath  ere  he 
proceeded: 

"  Well,  sir,  you  must  imagine  my  feelings  when, 
after  fisting  my  way  along  that  rope,  all  but  ex- 
hausted I  came  to  the  end  of  it  and  found  there  was 
nothing  there.  The  other  end  had  not  been  made 
fast  when  it  was  thrown  to  me. 

"  I  had  given  up,  and  in  despair  had  stretched 
my  two  hands  up,  still  clinging  to  that  end  of  rope, 
when  again  the  light  shone  full  upon  me.  A  noose 
was  neatly  dropped  over  my  hands  and  fell  down 
beneath  my  arm-pits.  Ahnost  unconscious,  but  not 
quite,  I  was  drawn  on  board  a  destroyer. 

"  And  would  you  believe  it,  gentlemen,"  pursued 
the  boatswain's  mate  earnestly,  "  when  I  was  pulled 
aboard  I  still  clung  to  that  rope,  and  they  could  not 
pry  my  hands  open,  so  stiff  was  I  with  the  cold. 
They  had  to  cut  off  the  end  of  the  rope  between  my 
clenched  fists,  and  it  was  more  than  an  hour  before 
they  could  remove  it. 

"And  others  there  were  rescued  in  still  worse  case 
than  I,  others  who  had  been  in  the  freezing  waters 
longer  than  I.  Some  were  brought  aboard  as 
rigid  as  statues  from  head  to  heel,  and  clinging  to 
bits  of  wreckage  or  life-belts  from  which  they  could 
not  be  separated  till  long  afterward.  Some  were 
pulled  out  of  the  water  all  doubled  up,  too,  and 

59 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

could  not  be  straightened  out  for  an  hour  or 
more. 

"And  yet,  gentlemen,  most  of  us  thawed  out  and 
limbered  up  and  got  well  again.  That's  why  I  say 
it's  a  marvel  what  a  man  can  go  through  when  he 
has  to." 

In  conversation  like  this,  all  of  it  most  interesting, 
the  moments  sped.  It  seemed  almost  no  time  since 
Lieutenant  Morgan  had  left  them,  ere  the  scrap- 
ing of  a  navy  launch  along  the  "  flivver's  "  side  an- 
nounced his  return.  And  yet  he  had  been  gone 
for  more  than  two  hours. 


60 


CHAPTER  ly 

THE  SPECIAL  IDEA 

**yi  et  armis," 
{By  force  and  arms.) 

They  knew  by  Jack  Morgan's  face,  before  he 
opened  his  mouth,  that  big  business  was  afoot.  His 
small  eyes  glistened  with  excitement,  and  a  smile 
of  great  satisfaction,  almost  genial,  curled  his 
habitually  close  lips. 

Van  Home  and  Storm  were  still  engaged  in 
animated  conversation  with  Ned  Harkness  when 
the  skipper  of  the  little  motor-patrol  boat  came 
aboard  again.  He  beckoned  them  to  the  tiny 
cabin,  into  which  he  himself  at  once  disappeared. 

As  they  entered  it  he  was  taking  a  folded  docu- 
ment from  the  inside  pocket  of  his  coat.  This  he 
laid  upon  the  small  chart-table  in  the  centre  of  the 
cabin.  Then  he  removed  his  coat,  pushed  his  cap 
far  back  upon  his  head,  and  as  he  drew  a  light 
canvas  stool  up  to  the  table,  he  said,  addressing  his 

second  in  command : 

6i 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

"At  last,  Ned,  we  are  going  to  see  a  little  ex- 
citement, or  I  am  very  much  mistaken."  And 
there  was  an  exultant  ring  in  his  voice  as  he  spoke. 

"And  you  fellows,  too,"  he  added,  glancing  up 
at  Storm  and  Van  Home,  "  are  right  in  luck,  to 
happen  along  for  just  this  particular  trip." 

He  lowered  his  voice,  as  if  even  out  there  on  the 
waters  of  the  harbor,  with  none  near  save  these 
three  and  the  four  trusty  jackies  who  made  up  his 
small  crew,  and  who  were  at  that  moment  yarning 
away  the  time  aft,  the  matter  that  he  was  about  to 
communicate  to  them  was  of  such  moment  and 
called  for  such  great  secrecy  that  it  must  needs  be 
spoken  of  in  guarded  accents,  and  with  bated 
breath.     He  had  their  absorbed  attention  at  once. 

"  We  are  going  to  take  part, — even  if  it  is  only  a 
very  small  part — in  one  of  the  biggest  shows  that 
the  British  Navy  has  pulled  oflP  since  the  war  began. 

"  Gather  around  close  behind  me  here,"  he 
directed  them,  at  the  same  time  motioning  with  his 
free  hand. 

And  then  he  paused  to  say  to  Van  Home  and 
Storm,  as  if  it  were  something  that  but  just  then 
had  occurred  to  him: 

"And — ^by  the  way — it  will  perhaps  be  as  well, 
Van  and  Ralph,  for  you  two  to  keep  out  of  sight  in 
the  cabin  here  till  we  up  anchor.  There's  nothing 
wrong  about  having  you  here,  and  yet  this  affair 

62 


THE  SPECIAL  IDEA 

is  so  special  and  absolute  secrecy  is  so  all  important 
to  its  success  that  the  presence  of  even  two  army 
officers  on  one  of  the  patrol  boats  might  at  least 
excite  comment.  You  will  not  have  to  remain  un- 
der cover  so  veiy  long,  as  we  shall  weigh  anchor  at 
ten  o'clock,  and  immediately  put  to  sea.  You  get 
me,  eh? " 

The  two  boys  merely  nodded  their  understand- 
ing and  acquiescence  as  they  and  Ned  took  up 
positions  behind  the  sitting  skipper,  so  that  they 
could  look  over  his  shoulders,  and  examine  the 
paper  which  he  then  proceeded  to  unfold  and 
smooth  out  upon  the  table,  saying,  as  he  did  so: 

"  This  is  a  small  scale  diagTam  drawing  of  the 
chief  German  U-base  on  the  North  Sea,  Zeebrugge 
Harbor." 

At  this  simple  remark,  although  they  were  pre- 
pared for  something  out  of  the  ordinary,  all  three 
of  the  young  skipper's  hearers  were  so  startled  that 
they  involuntarily  straightened  up  for  an  instant 
behind  the  speaker's  back,  and  cast  significant  and 
inquiring  glances  at  each  other. 

"  The  first  positive  inkling  that  any  of  us  got 
as  to  what  was  really  astir,"  pursued  Morgan,  turn- 
ing his  head  parrot-wise  to  look  up  at  his  audience, 
"was  at  this  meeting  of  the  commanders  of  the 
destroyers  and  patrol-boats  from  which  I  have  just 
returned. 

63 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

"  Each  of  us  has  his  own  cut-and-dried  little  stunt 
assigned  to  him,  and  each  of  us  has  been  warned  to 


Zeebrngge,  on  the  Belgian  Coast,  lies  about  70  miles  across  the 
North  Sea  from  Dover,  England,  and  is  about  135  miles  from 
London.  A  railway  runs  out  almost  to  the  head  of  the  Mole 
(or  breakwater),  the  top  of  which  is  covered  with  sheds  and 
warehouses. 
A—Entrance  to  Channel  leading  to  Lock,  steel  swing-bridges, 

and  canal  to  Bruges. 
B — Point  inside  Mole  where  troops  from  a  cruiser  and  two 

auxiliary  vessels  made  assault. 
C— Trestle  bridge. 
D-— Coast  line. 

EE — Railway  running  out  onto  Mole. 
F— Canal  Lock. 
G — Turning  Basin  of  Canal. 
H — Lighthouse  at  head  of  Mole— Zeebrngge  Light. 

attend  to  that  alone  and  never  mind  what  the  other 

fellow  is  domg. 

64 


WE  ARE   TO  WAIT  FOR  A  SIGNAL  *' 


tec  «         ' 

etc"-       <     '      '        ■■ 


THE  SPECIAL  IDEA 

"  Our  particular  job,  Ned,"  he  continued,  look- 
ing straight  into  the  eager  questioning  eyes  of  his 
second  in  command,  "  is  to  make  a  landing  on  the 
Belgian  coast  somewhere  about  here." 

And  he  indicated  with  a  finger  a  point  on  the  coast 
line  shown  on  the  diagram  of  the  Harbor  of  Zee- 
brugge  that  lay  outspread  before  them  on  the 
table. 

"  I  know  the  spot,"  volunteered  Ned  Harkness. 
"  Where  you  have  your  finger  is  just  about  half  a 
mile  south  of  the  point  at  which  the  breakwater 
leads  out  from  the  coast-line  to  the  mole.  I  have 
been  in  the  harbor  more  than  once.  Before  the  war, 
that  was." 

"  Good !  And  you  are  right,  Ned,"  agreed  his 
skipper. 

"And  our  job,"  he  continued,  "  is  simply  to  lay  a 
course  for  Zeebrugge  Light,  and  after  we  have 
picked  it  up,  to  lie  about  half  a  mile  off  that  part 
of  the  coast  I  have  just  indicated.  There  we  are  to 
wait  for  a  signal,  and  when  we  get  it,  to  make  a 
landing  and  set  off  about  a  dozen  or  so  flares.  That 
is  practically  our  whole  job.  The  problem  that  is 
up  to  us  alone,  is  to  make  that  landing  unobserved 
from  the  shore,  if  possible." 

"  Some  problem,  too! "  rejoined  Harkness,  shak- 
ing his  head  gravely.  "  German  coast-guards  will 
be  as  thick  as  flies  on  a  dead  horse  in  June  all  along 

6s 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMr 

that  coast-line  now.  I  don't  see  how  even  a  row- 
boat  could  make  it  without  being  discovered." 

"  I  know  it's  going  to  be  some  job,"  rejoined 
Morgan,  "  but  it's  got  to  be  done;  that's  all  there 
is  to  it.  So  it's  up  to  us  to  think  of  some  way  to 
do  it;  for  do  it  I  will,  if  I  have  to  run  the  flivver's 
nose  smack  up  on  shore,  and  fire  the  flares  from  her 
deck!" 

The  speaker  clamped  his  bulldog  jaws  together 
and  looked  from  one  to  the  other  truculently,  in  the 
old  way  that  Van  and  Storm  remembered  so 
well. 

"  But  you  haven't  told  us  what  the  'special  idea' ' 
is,  Jack.  Nor  what  the  immediate  object  of  setting 
off  the  flares  there  is.  If  we  had  some  idea  of  what 
the  plan  of  operations  is,  perhaps  we  could  help  you 
think  of  some  less  desperate  way  of  doing  your 
share.  Not  that  we  for  one  moment  would  think 
of  objecting  to  your  casting  away  the  flivver  if 
there  is  no  other  way,"  ventured  Storm. 

"  Perhaps  Jack  is  under  obligation  to  keep  silent 
about  that,  Ralph,"  observed  Van,  considerately 
glancing  at  Morgan. 

"  No,"  replied  the  latter,  "  all  the  orders  we  had 
were  that  we  were  not  to  discuss  the  matter  with 


*  Special  Idea — In  all  military  "Operation  Orders"  the  main 
object  to  be  accomplished  is  technically  known  as  the  "Special 
Idea." 

66 


THE  SPECIAL  IDEA 

any  one  till  we  were  aboard  our  own  vessels  again, 
and  that  once  aboard  them  we  were  on  no  account 
to  go  ashore  again  before  sailing  time,  nor  to  allow 
any  one  else  to  do  so.     That  was  all.' 

"And  I  have  no  objection  to  telling  you  all  I 
know  myself,"  he  added.  "  In  fact,  I  intended  to, 
whether  you  had  asked  me  or  not. 

"  Outside  of  what  concerned  the  part  that  each 
fellow's  own  particular  craft  had  to  carry  out,  we 
were  informed  just  briefly  as  to  what  the  special 
idea  was,  and  were  given  a  scant  outline  of  the 
general  plan,  as  a  whole,  so  that  we  could  see  what 
relation  each  bit  had  to  the  success  of  the  *  special 
idea.' 

"  But,  oh  boy!  if  it  all  works  out  all  right,  we 
are  surely  going  to  put  one  over  on  Fritz  to-night 
that  he  will  not  forget  in  a  hurry! "  he  interjected 
with  a  momentary  burst  of  enthusiasm  at  the 
thought. 

Then  relapsing  into  his  mood  of  perplexity,  he 
continued : 

"And  as  I  have  already  said,  we,  each  one  of  us, 
had  impressed  upon  him  individually  the  impor- 
tance of  his  own  bit,  as  an  absolutely  essential  part 
of  the  whole  machinery,  and  we  were  told  that  if 
each  one  of  us  took  care  of  his  own  part  as  ordered, 
the  whole  thing  was  bound  to  be  a  success,  and  not 
otherwise. 

67 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

"And  that's  what's  getting  my  goat  just  now," 
he  concluded  lamely.  "  I  never  did  have  much  of 
a  bean,  anyhow!" 

Van  saw  that  the  youthful  skipper  was  so  filled 
with  anxiety  as  to  his  part  of  the  general  plan  that 
he  could  not  think  coherently  of  anything  unless  he 
were  pinned  down  to  definite  questions,  so  he  inter- 
posed quietly,  but  firmly: 

"  Well,  Jack,  let  us  get  down  to  brass  tacks  now! 
And  tell  us,  first  of  all,  what  is  the  *  special 
idea'?" 

Van  Home,  as  he  spoke,  placed  one  of  his  big 
hands  on  Morgan's  shoulder,  and  leaning  over  him 
tapped  the  diagram  on  the  table  imperatively  with 
the  index  finger  of  his  right  hand. 

"All  right,  Van! "  Morgan  readily  replied,  as  if 
glad  of  a  lead.  He  placed  the  square  tip  of  one  of 
his  short,  thick  fingers  exactly  upon  the  entrance 
to  the  channel  of  the  great  ship  canal  that  leads 
from  the  ancient  city  of  Ghent  far  in  the  interior 
of  Belgium  through  Bruges  to  Zeebrugge  on  the 
low  lying  coast  of  that  devastated  land,  then  he 
added  dramatically: 

"  The  *  special  idea '  is  just  to  sink  five  old  battle 
cruisers  right  there,  and  thus  to  bottle  up  whatever 
submarines  Germany  may  have  resting  in  the  canal 
basins!" 

Just  here  it  may  be  stated  tliat  Morgan  was  not 

68 


THE  SPECIAL  IDEA 

strictly  correct  in  saying  tliat  the  enemy  submarines 
would  be  bottled  up  within  the  seagomg  canal,  pro- 
vided its  seaward  entrance  were  blocked.  From 
Bruges,  another,  though  lesser  canal,  led  in  a  south- 
westerly direction  to  Ostend,  another  of  the  Ger- 
man U-bases  on  the  Belgian  coast.  Zeebrugge  was 
their  principal  submarine  base,  however,  and  it  was 
the  intention  of  the  Allied  Naval  Forces  to  deal 
with  the  Ostend  outlet  later.  Suffice  it  to  say  here 
that  this  matter  was  attended  to  within  the  fort- 
night. 

Jack  Morgan  paused  and  with  his  thick  finger 
still  resting  on  the  drawing  before  him,  seemed 
waiting  for  further  questions,  as  if  not  knowing  how 
to  proceed. 

His  three  hearers  for  a  moment  were  silent  also. 
Knowing,  as  each  of  them  did,  from  their  training 
and  past  experience,  the  magnitude  of  the  prepara- 
tions necessary  for  so  great  an  operation,  they 
paused  in  the  effort  to  visualize  them. 

Ned  Harkness  was  the  first  to  break  the  momen- 
tary silence.  In  tones  that  seemed  something  be- 
tween a  sigh  and  a  gasp,  he  thought  aloud: 

"It's  impossible!  It  can't  be  done!  Those 
blockade  ships  will  be  blown  out  of  the  water  half 
a  mile  or  more  before  they  can  even  make  the 
entrance  to  the  harbor,  let  alone  get  right  across  it 
to  the  mouth  of  the  canal.     Why,  that  mole  and 

69 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMr 

harbor  fairly  bristle  with  guns  of  all  sizes  and 
ranges — from  *  typewriters '  *  to  '  Berthas.' 

"  Besides,  the  whole  harbor  will  be  as  bright  as 
in  full  daylight!  What  with  the  hundreds  of 
powerful  search-lights  they  have  always  ready  to 
turn  on,  and  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  star- 
shells  and  Very  lights  they  will  send  up! 

"  Why,  they  have  guns  there  with  which  they 
can  drop  shells  accurately  to  the  square  yard  for 
twenty  miles  out  at  sea !  It  can't  be  done ! "  he  con- 
cluded, shaldng  his  grizzled  head  pessimistic- 
ally. 

The  boatswain's  mate  was  on  just  the  right  track 
to  rouse  the  young  skipjper,  and  perhaps  he  knew 
it.  Jack  Morgan  was  never  patient  in  the  face  of 
objection  and  contradiction.  He  flared  up  at 
once,  and  striking  the  table  forcibly  with  his 
clenched  fist,  and  half  turning  about  on  his  stool  so 
as  more  nearly  to  face  his  second  in  command,  he 
asserted  in  a  tone  that  brooked  no  argument: 

"  But  it  is  going  to  be  done,  I  tell  you!  We  are 
going  to  have  a  tremendous  covering  fleet  of  Amer- 
ican, British,  and  French  cruisers  and  monitors 
armed  with  guns  that  will  carry  as  far,  and  farther, 
than  their  shore  guns.     The  blocking  cruisers  are  to 

*"  Typewriters  "—machine  guns.  "  Berthas  "—German  guns 
of  large  caliber,  so  named  by  the  allied  troops  because  of  Bertha 
Krupp,  one  of  the  principal  owners  of  the  Krupp  gun  factory  at 
Essen. 

70 


THE  SPECIAL  IDEA 

make  their  way  toward  the  harbor  behind  a  smoke 
cloud  thrown  out  by  a  large  number  of  destroyers 
and  flivvers  that  will  precede  them.  As  soon  as 
these  last  pick  up  the  harbor  light,  before  they  fire 
a  single  shot  themselves,  they  will  signal  the  great 
covering  fleet,  which  will  at  once  open  with  all 
that  it  has,  and  throw  a  blanket  barrage  right  into 
Zeebrugge  itself. 

"  With  the  front  line  of  small  craft  there  is  to  be 
one  fast  cruiser  with  two  other  swift  auxiliary  ves- 
sels loaded  to  their  gunnels  with  boarding  troops 
armed  with  bombs  and  flame-throwers.  When  the 
monitors  and  cruisers  open  up  with  their  long-dis- 
tance barrage  these  three  ships  will  scoot  ahead  of 
all  others.  They  will  make  for  the  inside  curve  of 
the  mole,  and  take  it  by  boarding  attack  right  about 
here,  if  I  understand  the  plan." 

He  indicated  with  his  finger  as  he  spoke  a  point 
within  the  inner  bend  of  the  mole. 

"And  their  signal  is  to  be  our  signal,  too.  The  in- 
stant our  barrage  starts  those  flares  must  be  lighted 
down  here."  And  he  moved  his  finger  to  that  place 
on  the  diagram  which  he  had  first  of  all  pointed  out 
to  them. 

Then  again  the  young  skipper  came  to  an  abrupt 
pause,  and  once  more  Van,  seeing  that  he  was  about 
to  lose  himself  again  in  a  brown  study,  jolted  hin) 
back  with  a  peremptory  question. 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

"  Go  on,  Jack!  You  have  not  told  us  yet  the 
object  of  lighting  those  flares." 

"  Oh,  yes,  sure!"  replied  Morgan  with  a  start, 
as  if  suddenly  aroused  from  dreamland.  "  I  beg 
your  pardon,  fellows. 

"  Those  conventional  marks  there,"  he  then  con- 
tinued, moving  his  finger  to  a  point  on  the  diagram 
about  midway  between  the  head  of  the  mole  and 
the  junction  of  the  ferro-concrete  breakwater  with 
the  shore,  "  are  meant  to  indicate  a  trestlework 
bridge  joining  the  mole  with  the  breakwater.  The 
break  in  the  concrete  there  is  to  allow  for  the  ebb 
and  flow  of  the  tide,  and  so  lessen  the  strength 
of  the  wash  around  the  head  of  the  mole. 

"  Well,  as  soon  as  the  general  forward  move- 
ment starts,  two  old  submarines  are  to  dash  up  at 
full  speed  and  jam  themselves  right  up  among  the 
pile-work  under  that  bridge.  They  will  be  loaded 
to  the  neck  with  *  T.  N.  T.'  On  that  account  they 
can  be  only  partly  submerged,  and  may  be  detected 
long  before  they  reach  their  objective.  It's  to  draw 
the  enemy's  attention  and  fire  from  them,  tempo- 
rarily at  least,  that  the  flares  are  to  be  set  off  just 
below  the  breakwater,  just  as  if  a  landing  in  force 
were  being  made  there. 

"As  a  matter  of  fact,"  he  added,  "  the  first  plan 
was  to  make  a  real  landing  with  a  force  there ;  but  it 
was  finally  decided  that  if  a  sufficient  number  of 

72 


THE  SPECIAL  IDEA 

flares  were  set  off  there  it  would  do  every  bit  as 
well,  as  the  enemy  would  then  be  fooled  into  think- 
ing that  a  landing  was  being  made.  Don't  you 
see? " 

"  I  see  now.  I  get  you,  Jack! "  interjected  Van 
just  the  least  bit  excitedly.  "  The  submarines  are 
to  be  blown  up  under  the  trestlework.  The  plan, 
as  I  see  it  now,  is  to  make  the  enemy  believe  that 
the  main  object  is  to  destroy  the  mole  and  break- 
water, and  by  doing  so  distract  his  attention  from 
the  blockading  cruisers.  Then  under  cover  of  this 
fierce  assault  on  the  mole  they  will  slip  into  the 
harbor  and  sink  themselves  at  the  canal  entrance." 

"Exactly!"  rejoined  Morgan,  "and  if  we  all 
pull  off  our  own  little  stunts  the  whole  thing  will 
succeed  like  clockwork." 

"  The  plan's  a  ticklish  one,  but  it  may  work  at 
that,"  observed  Harkness,  who  meanwhile  had  been 
intently  studying  the  diagram  of  the  harbor. 

"  But  what's  going  to  happen  to  the  crews  of  the 
submarines  when  they  blow  up?  "  asked  Lieutenant 
Storm. 

"  Oh,"  answered  Morgan  carelessly,  "there's  half 
a  dozen  flivvers  detailed  to  chase  them  up  closely 
and  take  off  their  crews  as  soon  as  they  are  jammed 
into  position  under  the  bridge,  and  the  time  fuses 
that  are  to  set  them  off  have  been  lighted." 

"And  after  the  whole  operation  has  been  com- 

73 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

pleted,  then  what?"  queried  Lieutenant  Van 
Home. 

"  Why,  as  soon  as  the  blockade  ships  have  been 
sunk  in  position  at  the  canal  entrance  the  recall 
signals  will  be  fired,  and  we  will  then  all  pull  out — 
that  is,  all  of  us  who  can — and  hike  for  home  again. 

"  There's  a  whole  raft  of  flivvers  detailed  to  fol- 
low up  the  blockade  ships,  and  in  fact  all  the  other 
craft  that  enter  the  harbor,  to  take  off,  or  rescue 
their  crews,  should  that  prove  necessary. 

"And,  believe  me,  fellows,"  the  young  skipper 
continued  in  a  troubled  tone,  looking  up  at  Van 
Home  and  Storm,  "  I'm  mighty  sorry  that  I  got 
you  two  into  this  mess.  I  had  no  idea  what  we 
were  going  to  get  up  against." 

"  If  it  is  on  our  account  that  you  are  worrying. 
Jack,  old  man,"^  said  Van,  "  why,  just  don't,  that's 
all !  And  as  for  your  getting  us  into  this  mess,  as 
you  say,  you  are  all  wrong.  If  I  remember  rightly 
it  was  we  who  insisted  on  your  taking  us." 

"But,  don't  you  see,  Van?"  persisted  Morgan. 
"  I  just  have  to  set  off  those  flares,  no  matter  what 
it  costs.  And  if  I  have  to  run  the  boat  ashore  to  do 
it,  we'll  all  be  taken  prisoners  and  be  locked  up  for 
the  rest  of  the  war.  I  just  wish  they  had  detailed 
me  as  a  tender  to  one  of  the  larger  ships,  the  same 
as  all  of  the  rest  of  the  flivvers  are." 

"  If  I  were  in  your  place,  Jack,"  interposed 

74 


THE  SPECIAL  IDEA 

Ralph  Storm,  laying  his  hand  lightly  on  Morgan's 
shoulder,  "  I  should  feel  highly  complimented  at 
bemg  chosen  for  the  dangerous  and  important  post. 
Your  superior  officers,  Jack,  evidently  knew  the 
man  they  were  choosing  to  light  those  flares,  when 
they  picked  on  you,  old  top." 

"Anyhow,  we  are  a  long  way  from  the  German 
prison  camps  yet,"  smiled  Van  reassuringly. 

"And  we  will  not  cross  that  bridge  till  we  come 
to  it,  any  more  than  those  two  old  submarines  will 
try  to  blow  up  that  bridge  at  Zeebrugge  till  they 
get  under  it.  What's  worrying  me  more  than  any- 
thing else  just  now  is  a  gnawing  emptiness  under 
my  Sam  Browne.  Have  you  no  chuck  on  board, 
Jack?" 

"  Sure  thing,  I  have! "  cried  the  young  skipper, 
relieved  to  find  his  guests  taking  the  matter  so 
coolly.  "  Why,  what  am  I  thinking  of?  None 
of  us  has  had  anything  to  eat  since  lunch  in  Lon- 
don. I  am  hungry  myself,  now  that  you  have  men- 
tioned it! 

"  I  say,  Ned,"  he  continued,  turning  to  Hark- 
ness,  "  tell  Sam  to  fry  us  up  a  mess  of  bacon  and 
eggs,  and  make  some  coffee.  Hustle  him  up !  And 
come  right  back  yourself,  Ned,  so  that  we  can  talk 
over  our  plans  further! " 


75 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  DEPTH  BOMBS 

'*When  will  a  year  of  man's  short  life  count  more 
than  here  and  noivf 

Ned  Harkness  left  the  cabin  to  order  Sam,  who 
prepared  such  "  al  fresco  "  meals  as  in  cases  of 
emergency  it  was  necessary  from  time  to  time  to 
serve  aboard  the  motor  patrol,  to  fry  eggs  and 
bacon,  and  to  prepare  coffee  for  four  to  be  served 
without  needless  delay  in  the  tiny  cabin. 

Storm  then  observed  to  the  young  naval  lieu- 
tenant, "  Now,  Jack,  I  don't  wish  you  to  think  that 
I'm  butting  in  on  your  business,  nor  get  the  idea 
that  I  think  I  know  more  about  running  this  affair 
than  you  do.  But  two  heads  must  be  better  than 
one,  even  if  one  is  a  cabbage  head,  and  not  coupling 
you  up  with  the  vegetable  kingdom  either." 

Storm  spoke  lightly,  for  he  knew  Morgan's  sensi- 
tive nature  and  hasty  temper.  As  he  paused  Mor- 
gan looked  up  at  him  inquiringly,  with  an  air  of 
some  surprise,  but  said  nothing. 

"And  without  meaning  any  offense,  Jack,"  con- 
tinued Lieutenant  Storm,  "  I  think  that  I  may  say 

76 


THE  DEPTH  BOMBS 

that  Van  here  and  I  have  had  a  bit  of  training  and 
experience  in  things  military,  and  so  I  should  like 
to  make  a  suggestion  to  you  about  those  flares." 

"  Well,  what  in  thunder  are  you  beating  about 
the  bush  for?"  burst  out  the  young  skipper. 
"  What  do  you  take  me  for,  anyway?  By  all 
means,  let's  hear  it.  I  always  did  say  you  had 
some  bean,  Ralph." 

"All  right  then!  I  have  the  floor,"  laughed 
Storm. 

"  In  the  first  place,  then,  we  soldiers,  before  mak- 
ing a  move  of  any  kind,  always  find  out  all  we  can 
about  the  territory  we  are  going  to  operate  over, 
and  the  disposition  of  the  enemy's  forces." 

"  Yes,  I  know  that,"  said  Morgan. 

"  Hush,  I'm  supposed  to  have  the  floor,  remem- 
ber! If  it  is  at  all  possible  we  make  a  reconnais- 
sance to  get  this  necessary  information.  If  we 
cannot  do  that  we  study  maps,  provided  we  have 
them.  And  if  we  have  no  maps  we  question  some 
one  who  has  already  been  over  the  ground.  This 
last  alternative  is  the  only  one  open  to  us  in  the 
present  case." 

Just  at  this  moment  the  boatswain's  mate  re- 
turned to  the  cabin,  and  Storm  turned  to  him,  say- 
ing: 

"  Ned,  what  sort  of  a  beach  is  there  where  we 
have  to  set  off  those  flares? " 

77 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

"  It's  a  wide  stretch  of  sandy  beach,  sir.  It 
slopes  away  gently  up  from  the  water  to  the  sand- 
dunes  half  a  mile  or  more  inland." 

"And  how  about  the  water?  " 

"  It  shoals  very,  very  gradually  out  to  sea." 

"  How  near  to  making  a  landing  could  we  get, 
without  running  aground? " 

"  We'd  run  her  nose  into  the  sand  bottom  per- 
haps two  hundred  yards  from  high  or  low  water 
mark ;  it  depends  on  how  the  tide  might  be  running," 
positively  and  promptly  asserted  Harkness. 

"  I  thought  as  much,"  said  Storm.  "  So,  you 
see,  Jack,  that  settles  your  desperate  plan  of  cast- 
ing away  the  flivver.  It  would  be  absolutely  of  no 
use  to  do  so;  we  should  still  be  too  far  out  to  de- 
ceive any  one  on  the  shore  into  thinking  that  the 
flares  were  meant  to  show  the  way  for  a  landing  of 
troops." 

Even  the  young  skipper  could  not  help  seeing  the 
truth  in  his  words.  His  jaw  fell,  his  little  near-set 
eyes  opened  wide,  and  he  stared  at  the  speaker  in 
helpless  disappointment. 

Ralph  had  something  else  up  his  sleeve,  how- 
ever.    He  turned  to  Harkness  again: 

"  Under  ordinary  circumstances,  Ned,  how  near 
to  the  shore  could  we  get  without  risk  of  being 
seen? " 

"  If  the  night  is  clear,  as  it  promises  to  be,"  an- 

78 


THE  DEPTH  BOMBS 

swered  the  boatswain's  mate,  "  we  can  use  our 
smoke  screen  effectively  to  within  half  a  mile  of  the 
land.  We'll  have  to  leave  the  smoke  behind  us 
then,  and  can  be  easily  picked  up  by  the  shore 
search-lights. 

"  But  there's  generally  a  haze  hanging  over  that 
part  of  the  North  Sea  o'  nights  at  this  time  of  the 
year,  no  matter  how  fine  the  weather  otherwise  may 
be.  You  can  almost  depend  upon  it.  And  if  the 
night  is  hazy  we  could  run  in  just  as  far  as  the 
depth  of  water  will  allow  us  to." 

"Good!"  said  Storm,  much  to  Morgan's  sur- 
prise, for  to  him  the  information  that  the  boatswain 
had  just  afforded  seemed  anything  but  good. 
Even  Van  seemed  a  little  bit  surprised.  But 
neither  of  them  ventured  to  interrupt  the  dialogue. 

"  Supposing,  then,  that  we  can  run  the  flivver  to 
within  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  of  the 
shore,  what  would  the  prospect  be  for  making  the 
remainder  of  the  way  in  a  small  rowboat  such  .as 
one  of  these  we  carry?"  was  Storm's  next  ques- 
tion. 

Morgan  pricked  up  his  ears  and  leaned  a  little 
forward  on  his  stool  in  the  direction  of  the  speaker. 
Van  Home  threw  him  an  approving  glance.  They 
thought  they  were  beginning  to  see  through  his 
plan. 

"  The  chances  would  be  fair,"  said  Ned  Hark- 

79 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMY 

ness  slowly  and  thoughtfully.  "  With  muffled 
oars,  of  course.  There'd  have  to  be  at  least  two 
men  in  the  boat  also,  one  to  stay  by  her,  and  the 
other  to  land  and  set  off  the  flares." 

The  grizzled  veteran,  as  he  spoke,  however,  had 
lowered  his  glance  to  the  planking  of  the  cabin 
floor,  and  was  shaking  his  head  dubiously. 

"  Only  fair,  eh,  you  think,  Ned? " 

"  There's  big  risk  even  in  that  way,  sir,"  an- 
swered Harkness,  looking  up  again.  "  You  see, 
sir,  there's  the  oar-wake  of  the  boat.  No  matter 
how  easy  you  rowed  it  would  show  for  nearly 
twenty-five  yards  behind  you  in  still  water.  Even 
if  the  flash-light  missed  the  boat — and  their  long 
beams  are  all  night  long  playing  over  the  water, 
sweeping  hither  and  yon  and  crossing  each  other — 
the  chances  are  they'd  pick  up  her  wash.  Then  the 
light  would  leap  for  the  boat  herself,  and  then  the 
shells  from  the  quick-firers  and  the  bullets  from  the 

*  typewriters '  would  get  you  before  you  could  say 

*  torpedo.' 

"  There's  just  a  chance  that  you'd  make  the 
landing  without  mishap,"  he  continued;  "but  I 
doubt  if  one  of  our  small  oared  boats  even  could 
ever  make  its  get-away  again." 

"  It  would  have  a  much  better  chance  than  the 
motor-boat,  though,  eh,  Ned?" 

"Aye,  for  the  fliwer'd  have  no  chance  at  all." 

80 


THE  DEPTH  BOMBS 

"  In  a  nutshell,  then,  the  whole  thing  boils  itself 
down  to  this,"  pursued  Storm;  "  the  smaller  the  ob- 
ject on  the  surf  ace  of  the  water,  the  less  chance  of 
its  being  picked  up  by  the  lights.  One  man 
swimming  alone  on  the  water  would  be  taking  a 
great  deal  less  risk  than  if  he  were  in  a  boat,  eh? " 

"Why,  surely,  sir!"  replied  Ned.  "Besides 
showing  nothing  but  his  head  and  shoulders  above 
the  water  at  any  time,  a  man  could  watch  the 
lights,  and  when  one  made  as  if  to  come  near  he 
could  quietly  sink  under  water  at  once  and  wait 
till  it  had  passed  over." 

Storm  turned  his  attention  to  the  young  skipper 
again;  but  before  addressing  the  latter  he  cast  a 
significant  glance  at  his  friend  Van  Home.  They 
exchanged  a  quick  wink  of  mutual  understanding. 

Storm's  fleeting  glance  said  plainly,  "  Don't  butt 
in,  leave  this  to  me." 

And  the  answering  twinkle  of  his  friend's  eyelid 
replied  just  as  plainly,  "  Fire  ahead,  I'll  stand 
pat!" 

"About  a  dozen  flares,  I  think  you  said,  would  be 
enough,  Jack?    Did  you  not?  " 

"  Yes,  less  than  that  would  do,  if  they  were 
scattered  along  the  beach  far  enough,"  replied 
Morgan  in  a  puzzled  and  inquiring  tone.  He  was 
about  to  ask  a  question,  but  Storm  proceeded  with- 
out pausing: 

8i 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

"  Well,  Jack,  you  know  that  I  am  a  crack 
swimmer.  You  remember  that  I  captained  the 
swimming  team  at  the  old  school.  Now  I  could 
easily  carry  three  dozen  of  those  flares  if  it  were 
necessary,  tied  up  in  a  bundle  on  my  shoulders,  and 
there  would  be  little  or  no  risk." 

"Not  if  this  court  knows  itself!"  burst  forth 
Morgan  before  Storm  could  proceed  further  with 
the  development  of  his  project. 

"  I'm  the  party  responsible  for  the  lighting  of 
those  flares,  and  if  anybody  sets  them  off,  I'm  going 
to  do  it.  Besides,  I'm  some  swimmer  myself. 
What's  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards! " 

Then  the  young  skipper  in  his  turn  was  inter- 
rupted by  the  appearance  in  the  cabin  doorway  of 
Sam,  the  jolly  faced  young  jacky  who  had  been 
detailed  to  prepare  their  supper. 

Sam,  smiling  from  ear  to  ear,  bore  aloft,  bal- 
anced in  true  waiter  style  on  the  outspread  thumb 
and  fingers  of  his  right  hand,  a  tray  laden  with 
shiny  dishes,  a  platter  of  deliciously  browned  eggs 
and  bacon,  sweet  as  nuts,  and  a  huge  pot  of  steam- 
ing hot  coffee  that  filled  the  tiny  cabin  with  its 
appetizing  fragrance.  In  his  left  hand  he  carried 
a  bunch  of  napkins  and  knives  and  forks,  and  from 
the  deft  way  in  which  he  sifted  these  down  in  front 
of  each  of  the  party  about  the  table  no  one  would 
have  dreamed  that  just  the  week  before  Sam  had 

82 


THE  DEPTH  BOMBS 

captured  the  International  Heavyweight  Boxing 
Championship  of  the  Mosquito  Fleet. 

All  four  of  them  began  to  sniff  the  appetizing 
odors  which  Sam  had  introduced  into  the  cabin  with 
himself,  and  for  the  moment  they  omitted  all  fur- 
ther discussion. 

As  Sam  was  in  the  act  of  serving  each  of  them 
with  his  ration,  however,  Storm  did  not  forget  to 
cast  a  fleeting  glance  of  triumph  and  an  almost 
imperceptible  wink  in  Van's  direction,  and  received 
a  quick  smile  of  complete  understanding. 

Storm  had  not  for  one  moment  thought  that 
Morgan  would  allot  to  any  one  but  himself  the  post 
of  danger.  He  had  merely  worked  up  to  the  crux 
of  his  plan  by  thus  plying  Harkness  with  questions 
in  order  not  to  provoke  stubborn  objection  and 
argument  on  the  part  of  the  junior  naval  lieutenant, 
till  his  complete  project  had  been  presented. 

"  Well,  thank  goodness,  that  part  of  it  is  settled, 
at  any  rate!  "  volunteered  the  young  skipper  when 
Sam  had  again  departed,  just  as  if  there  could  have 
been  no  possible  objection  from  any  of  them  to  the 
last  statement  he  had  made  in  regard  to  swimming 
ashore  from  the  flivver  and  lighting  the  flares  him- 
self. 

"  You  have  taken  a  load  off  my  mind,  Ralph," 
he  went  on.  "  Simple  and  all  as  your  plan  is,  I 
might  not  have  thought  of  it  till  too  late.     In  my 

83 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMr 

usual  thick-headed  way  I  suppose  I  should  have 
cast  away  the  yacht,  and  then  we'd  all  of  us  have 
had  to  swim  the  rest  of  the  way  for  it,  and  would 
have  had  nothing  to  make  our  get-away  in  after- 
ward. You  certainly  have  a  head,  Ralph!"  he 
concluded  admiringly. 

Neither  Van  Home  nor  Storm  had  any  mind  to 
claim  the  honor  of  lighting  the  flares.  They  would 
have  been  glad  to  do  it,  either  of  them;  but  they 
knew  that  it  was  Morgan's  right,  and  that  were  the 
positions  reversed  they  would  do  as  he  was  doing. 
And,  of  course,  so  far  as  Harkness  was  concerned, 
it  was  not  his  place  to  gainsay  his  superior  officer. 

Storm  merely  asked,  although  he  could  at  once 
almost  have  bitten  his  tongue  off  for  doing  so,  so 
near  did  he  come  to  meddling  with  what  concerned 
him  not  at  all : 

"And  if  anything  should  happen  to  you.  Jack, 
what  shall  we  do  then?  " 

Morgan,  however,  seemed  to  find  nothing  amiss 
with  the  question,  and  answered  simply: 

"  Ned  automatically  succeeds  to  the  command  of 
the  flivver  when  I  am  not  on  deck,  and  he  will  know 
how  to  carry  on. 

"  Ned  does  all  the  real  navigating,  anyway,"  he 
frankly  added.  "  I'm  only  a  figurehead  after  all, 
eh,  Ned? " 

"  'Tisn't  every  young  officer,  sir,  as  would  have 

84 


THE  DEPTH  BOMBS 

sense  enough  to  let  me  run  her,"  smiled  the  boat- 
swain's mate. 

Van  Home  could  not  help  smiling  when  Storm 
muttered,  "  Carry  on,  sergeant!" 

When  they  had  finished  supper,  and  the  chart 
table  had  been  again  cleared,  they  again  fell  to  dis- 
cussing the  whole  blockading  operation,  and  the 
time,  until  ten  o'clock  came  with  its  signal  for 
weighing  anchor,  passed  very  quickly. 

Weather  conditions  at  the  start  were  quite  all 
that  could  be  desired.  A  light  northwest  wind  was 
blowing;  but  the  sea  was  tranquil  enough  to  be 
favorable  to  small  craft.  There  was  a  clear  sky, 
and  the  visibility  was  good. 

Some  cruisers  and  a  force  of  monitors  from  the 
Harwich  command  there  were ;  but  the  greater  part 
of  the  attacking  and  blockading  squadron  was  made 
up  of  the  destroyers  and  motor-boats  from  Dover. 
The  operation  they  were  undertaking  was  a  par- 
ticularly intricate  one,  and  had  to  be  worked  out 
to  a  time-table.  On  the  part  of  each  individual 
vessel,  great  and  little,  it  demanded  delicate  and  in- 
dependent navigation  on  a  hostile  coast,  without 
lights,  and  largely  under  unknown  navigational 
conditions.  There  was  the  added  danger  of  en- 
countering mine-fields,  also. 

The  outward  passage  from  the  narrow  Strait  of 
Dover  into  the  trackless  depths  of  the  inhospitable 

85 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

North  Sea  was  made  without  untoward  incident. 
The  larger  craft  followed  in  the  wake  of  the  motor- 
boats  which  led  the  column. 

They  moved  out  of  the  harbor  like  shadows, 
showing  no  lights,  and,  turning  one  by  one  into  the 
outer  channel,  hugged  the  coast  for  a  way,  the 
smoke  of  the  destroyers  and  larger  craft  drifting 
grayly  to  leeward. 

Then  they  turned  from  the  land  in  a  northeasterly 
direction,  and  began  to  deploy  at  wider  intervals 
apart  until  they  quite  lost  sight  of  each  other,  each 
vessel  steering  its  own  desperate  course. 

The  motor-boats  still  led,  and  gradually  in- 
creased the  distance  between  themselves  and  the 
destroyers  that  in  turn  increased  their  lead  on  the 
cruisers  and  monitors  following  in  their  wake. 
Several  British  submarines  were  sneaking  their 
hidden  way  along  somewhere  in  their  midst  or  ahead 
of  them. 

They  had  been  at  sea  for  more  than  an  hour.  To 
all  intents  and  purposes  Morgan's  little  flivver  was 
all  alone  on  the  wide  North  Sea. 

An  experienced  sailor  was  at  the  wheel  and 
Harkness  stood  close  to  him.  The  young  skipper 
with  his  two  old  schoolmates  had  taken  up  a  posi- 
tion well  forward. 

They  were  not  saying  much.  They  earnestly 
scanned  the  waters  ahead  and  to  each  side  as  far 

86 


THE  DEPTH  BOMBS 

as  they  could  see.  On  either  side  and  astern  mem- 
bers of  the  crew  were  stationed  as  lookouts,  also. 

Without  warning  the  periscope  of  a  submarine 
came  up  with  a  sudden  rushing  splash  not  more 
than  one  hundred  yards  dead  ahead  of  the  little 
flivver,  then  speeding  along  at  about  twenty-five 
miles  an  hour.  It  would  have  been  impossible  to 
shift  her  course  effectively,  even  had  her  skipper 
been  of  a  mind  to  do  so.  Obviously  the  only  course 
was  full  speed  ahead. 

The  U-boat  caught  sight  of  the  oncoming  flivver 
at  the  same  time,  and  at  once  began  to  submerge. 

At  the  first  rushing  splash  of  the  periscope  above 
the  water  Jack  Morgan  had  himself  leaped  to  the 
wheel,  crying  aloud  to  Harkness  as  he  did  so: 

"  It's  a  German  boat.     The  depth  bombs,  Ned!  " 

The  boatswain's  mate  leaped  to  obey. 

Morgan,  fearful  of  having  her  sides  ripped  open, 
steered  his  little  craft  so  as  to  avoid  hulling  the  sub- 
marine. 

It  seemed  to  Van  Home  and  Storm,  standing 
tense  in  the  bow,  that  scarcely  had  they  passed  over 
where  the  periscope  had  been,  when  there  was  an 
upheaval  of  the  ocean  that  literally  lifted  the 
staunch  little  boat  out  of  the  water.  And  then  al- 
most before  they  had  time  to  realize  what  had  al- 
ready happened  they  perceived  that  the  yacht  was 
already  circling  around,  and  though  still  rocking 

87 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U,  5.  ^RMT 

crazily  from  side  to  side  from  the  concussion,  was 
about  to  return  to  the  fatal  spot  again.  Jack  Mor- 
gan meant  to  make  sure;  he  was  intent  on  giving 
Harkness  a  chance  to  drop  another  bomb. 

Fortunately  for  them  they  were  still  more  than 
a  hundred  feet  from  the  point  where  the  submarine 
had  sunk,  when  a  veritable  geyser  of  white  foaming 
water  spouted  high  into  the  air  from  the  spot,  and 
then  subsided  into  a  spreading  film  of  oil  on  the 
surface  of  the  sea. 

Some  small  pieces  of  wood  arose  to  the  surface; 
but  nothing  more,  although  they  lay-to  there  and 
scanned  the  surrounding  surface  of  the  water  for 
several  minutes. 

Harkness  came  forward,  and  as  Morgan  re- 
linquished the  wheel  to  him,  that  he  might  lay  the 
yacht  on  her  proper  course  again,  the  young  skipper 
breathed  to  his  second  in  command: 

**  I  guess  we  got  her,  Ned? " 

"  Sure  thing!  "  replied  the  boatswain's  mate  in  a 
matter-of-fact  tone.  "  That  second  explosion 
could  have  been  made  only  by  the  blowin'  up  o'  his 
compressed  air  tanks." 

Morgan  rejoined  his  two  friends  in  the  bow;  but 
none  of  them  had  anything  to  say  for  some  time. 
The  awful  horror  of  it  had  appalled  them;  silence 
was  the  only  thing.  It  was  the  first  time,  too,  that 
Morgan  had  come  to  grips  with  the  enemy. 

88 


CHAPTER  VI 

ZEEBRUGGE 

*'No  mound  of  moldering  earth  shall  show 
The  fighting  place  of  the  men  helow; 
But  a  swim  of  seas  that  gather  and  spill, 
And  the  wind's  wild  chantry  whistling  shrill,'^ 

When  those  on  board  the  motor-boat  were  at 
length  assured  that  there  were  to  be  no  survivors 
from  the  destroyed  submarine,  the  little  craft  re- 
sumed the  gentle  throbbing  of  its  interrupted  way, 
and  some  two  hours  later  Harkness  had  unerringly 
picked  up  the  Zeebrugge  Light. 

As  the  boatswain's  mate  had  earlier  predicted,  a 
thin  haze  rendered  the  visibility  low.  They  were 
then  two  and  a  half  miles  off  shore.  The  time  was 
one-thirty  a.  m. 

"  We  have  half  an  hour  to  the  good,"  said  the 
young  skipper  to  the  boatswain's  mate,  who,  now 
that  they  had  entered  the  dangerous  waters,  had 
himself  taken  charge  of  the  wheel,  and  would  re- 
main at  that  post  till  the  night's  work  was  done. 

**  Run  in  slowly  opposite  the  point  where  you 
think  I  ought  to  land,"  he  went  on. 

89 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

"  Put  two  men  in  the  bow  with  boat-hooks  to 
fend  her  off  from  pushing  her  nose  too  solidly  into 
the  sand  and  getting  stuck  there.  Then  as  soon  as 
I  have  slipped  overboard  with  the  flares  back  her 
off,  and  lay-to  about  a  half  mile  out,  or  at  what- 
ever distance  you  think  best.  Use  your  own  judg- 
ment for  the  rest,  Ned! " 

"Aye,  aye! "  replied  Harkness  sententiously. 

Morgan  turned  to  Van  and  Storm,  who  were  at 
his  shoulder.  Storm  was  holding  in  his  hands  a 
haversack  containing  the  flares,  the  strap  of  which 
he  was  adjusting  so  that  the  sack  might  be  carried 
well  up  on  the  bearer's  shoulders.  The  flares  were 
incased  in  tin,  to  keep  them  dry. 

"  We  have  arrived  on  the  ground  almost  ac- 
cording to  schedule,  and  I've  no  doubt  the  rest  of 
the  motor-boats  are  lined  up  at  intervals  north  of 
us.  The  destroyers  will  about  now  be  overhauling 
them,  as  all  close  in  on  the  land.  The  cruisers  and 
monitors  will  finally  line  up  about  where  we  are 
now,  and  open  fire  from  here.  The  troop  ships 
will  make  a  dash  for  the  harbor  entrance  as  soon 
as  the  smoke  screen  is  abandoned.  Then  the  fun 
will  commence." 

The  speaker,  barefooted  and  stripped  to  the 
waist,  looked  like  anything  but  an  officer  of  the 
United  States  Navy.  His  arms,  shoulders,  neck, 
and  face  were  black  with  malodorous  engine  grease. 

90 


ZEEBRUGGE 

As  he  was  speaking,  Storm  and  Van  Home  were 
strapping  the  pack  firmly  upon  his  big-muscled 
bare  shoulders  in  such  a  manner  as  to  interfere  as 
little  as  might  be  with  his  swimming  powers.  They 
had  barely  completed  this  task  when  the  slow- 
gliding  motion  of  the  motor-boat  ceased,  softly  yet 
solidly. 

With  a  low,  "  Good-bye,  Jack,  old  man! "  from 
his  two  friends,  and  a  "Good  luck,  sir!"  from 
Harkness,  Morgan  without  a  word  slipped  over- 
board into  the  black  waters  of  the  North  Sea,  and 
a  few  yards  away  was  lost  to  the  straining  eyes 
that  strove  to  follow  him. 

The  motor-boat  was  then  pushed  off  again  by  the 
sailors  in  the  bows  with  their  boat-hooks.  The 
boatswain's  mate  elected  to  remain  as  close  inshore 
as  possible  to  await  the  return  of  his  young  com- 
manding officer,  and  was  satisfied  to  back  out  just 
far  enough  to  give  him  sufficient  sea-room  to  turn 
around. 

For  nearly  fifteen  minutes  that  was  certainly;  as 
the  French  say,  "  Un  mauvais  quart  d'heure." 
The  attention  of  the  boat's  passengers  and  crew 
alternated  between  the  coast-line  directly  opposite 
them  and  the  mole  of  Zeebrugge  to  the  north. 

It  was  pitch  dark  all  about,  save  for  the  intermit- 
tent flashing  of  the  search-lights,  rendered  distant 
by  the  haze,  and  none  of  them  penetrating  seaward 

91 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

for  more  than  four  hundred  yards.  Upon  the  sea 
all  was  perfectly  still;  even  the  little  breeze  that 
had  been  blowing  earlier  in  the  night  had  died  down. 

Then  in  one  moment  it  was  all  different.  The 
swift  cruiser  chosen  to  lead  the  attack  upon  the 
mole  was  picked  up  by  one  of  the  lights.  In  that 
same  instant  star-shells,  brighter  than  anything  the 
onlookers  had  ever  seen,  pierced  the  gloom  and 
showed  the  attacking  cruiser  and  her  two  consorts 
as  clearly  as  if  in  broad  daylight. 

In  another  second  it  seemed  as  if  every  shore 
battery  had  concentrated  upon  them.  Seventeen- 
inch  shells  and  smaller  ones  fell  all  about  them  like 
hail.  The  cruiser  was  hit,  but  she  plunged  on  and 
turned  inward  at  the  head  of  the  mole.  Her  twin 
consorts  followed  close  at  her  heels.  It  was  such  a 
picture  as  no  man  may  hope  to  see  twice  in  his  life. 

The  first  shot  had  been  the  signal  for  the  out- 
lying cruisers  and  monitors  to  bombard  the  shore 
batteries.  The  work  of  the  American  monitors  in 
this  respect  was  particularly  fine. 

The  scene  became  a  wild  one.  There  was  at  once 
a  thundering  of  guns  on  sea  and  land,  augmented 
by  the  deafening  and  constant  explosions  of  hun- 
dreds and  hundreds  of  shells  and  bombs.  More 
than  two  hundred  shells  were  fired  at  the  three 
attacking  ships  alone. 

Search-lights    crisscrossed    one    another,     and 

92 


ZEEBRUGGE 

darted  lance-like  through  the  haze.  Star-shells,  and 
floating  parachute  flares  in  the  air,  and  stationary 
flares  on  mole  and  quays,  illuminated  the  whole 
scene  with  the  brilliance  of  midday.  Such  was  the 
picture  stupendously  magnificent  for  more  than  an 
hour. 

At  the  first  burst  of  fire  naturally  all  eyes  were 
turned  toward  the  opening  picture  of  the  drama 
at  the  mole-head;  but  almost  at  once  Van  and 
Storm  bent  their  anxious  glances  shoreward.  Far 
down  the  shore  line — farther  than  they  had  ex- 
pected— one  magnesium  flare  burst  the  pitch 
darkness  there  with  its  scintillating  white  light; 
then  another  and  another  in  two  lines  above  the 
beach  at  varying  intervals  apart  broke  into  sudden 
illumination,  till  the  anxious  watchers  aboard  the 
motor-boat  counted  eleven  in  all. 

There  should  have  been  twelve,  and  the  failure  of 
the  twelfth  flare  to  ignite  filled  them  all  with  poign- 
ant suspense. 

"  Are  you  sure  there  were  twelve  in  the  haver- 
sack, Ralph?"  breathed  Lieutenant  Van  Home 
anxiously. 

**  Yes,  I  am  sure,"  replied  his  friend  in  as  low  a 
tone,  straining  his  vision  shoreward. 

The  ruse  was  successful.  The  batteries  along 
that  section  of  the  breakwater  nearest  the  shore  be- 
came alarmed.    They  thought  that  a  force  was 

93 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMr 

landing  there  to  make  a  flank  attack  upon  them, 
and  directed  a  searching  fire  upon  that  part  of  the 
beach  where  the  flares  had  been  set  off,  their  whole 
attention  for  the  moment  distracted  from  the  sea  in 
front  of  their  position. 

Before  these  batteries  had  discovered  the  trick 
that  had  been  played  upon  them  the  two  old  British 
submarines  laden  with  high  exj^losive,  which  were 
destined  to  blow  up  the  bridge  connecting  break- 
water and  mole,  had  almost  undetected  dashed  in 
so  close  to  the  high  sea-wall  of  the  mole,  that  it 
was  then  impossible  to  depress  the  guns  sufficiently 
to  bear  upon  them. 

Four  satellite  motor-boats  trod  upon  the  heels 
of  those  two  old  submersibles  to  pick  up  the  crews, 
who  were  to  leap  overboard  as  soon  as  their  charges 
had  been  safely  rammed  in  among  the  piles,  and  the 
short  time  fuses  ignited. 

The  enemy  star-shells  which  were  being  set  off 
from  the  top  of  the  bridge  merely  served  to  show 
the  way  for  the  submarines.  A  whole  company  of 
more  than  two  hundred  German  soldiers  rushed 
out  upon  the  top  of  the  bridge,  and  stood  shouting 
and  gesticulating  immediately  above  the  two  old 
submersibles  wedged  fast  among  the  piles  beneath. 
They  apparently  thought  that  these  had  lost  their 
way,  and  were  rejoicing  in  the  belief  that  they  were 
about  to  capture  them. 

94 


ZEEBRUGGE 

The  old  "  subs"  pushed  under  the  bridge  still 
farther,  and  when  their  cargoes  of  trinitrotoluol 
were  touched  off  they  blew  up  the  bridge  and  all 
standing  upon  it,  so  that  for  a  little  time  afterward 
fragments  of  men  and  wreckage  were  falling  into 
the  water  all  about. 

By  the  blowing  up  of  the  bridge  the  mole  was 
isolated,  and  no  heli^  could  be  sent  from  the  shore 
to  the  enemy  forces  already  being  attacked  on  the 
mole-head  by  men  from  the  three  troop  ships. 

But  meanwhile  there  was  great  anxiety  in  Jack 
Morgan's  little  motor-boat.  When  the  first  flare 
was  lighted  Harkness  at  once  headed  down  the 
coast,  and  when  directly  opposite  the  position  on  the 
shore  where  the  brilliant  magnesium  lights  were 
breaking  out,  began  to  run  cautiously  toward  the 
land.  Approaching  it  as  nearly  as  he  thought  safe, 
he  brought  the  motor-boat's  own  small  but  power- 
ful search-light  into  play,  despite  the  risk  of  draw- 
ing the  enemy's  fire.  And  that  this  was  no  purely 
imaginary  danger  was  soon  evidenced  by  the  angry 
shriek  of  an  eighteen-pound  shell  that  passed  over 
them  and  fell  into  the  water  beyond. 

This  first  shell  was  followed  by  another  and  an- 
other, each  nearer  and  nearer  the  motor-boat.  Un- 
heeding them,  the  boatswain's  mate  continued  to 
flash  his  narrow  beam  of  light  over  the  intervening 
sea,  searching  for,  and  as  a  guiding  signal  to,  the 

95 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

**  landing  party."  Then,  as  suddenly  as  they  had 
begun,  the  shells  ceased  to  come  that  way.  The 
two  old  British  submarines  had  been  sighted,  and 
the  shore  batteries  had  more  pressing  business  to 
attend  to,  nearer  home. 

And  still  there  was  no  sign  of  the  young  skipper. 
Harlmess  was  in  a  quandary.  He  turned  to  Van 
Home,  standing  near  him  at  the  wheel,  and  in- 
quired anxiously: 

"  Don't  you  think  we'd  better  put  off  a  boat,  sir, 
and  land  a  couple  of  men  to  search  the  beach? " 

Van  was  about  to  agTce,  when  a  voice  from  out 
the  darkness  on  the  flivver's  port  side  called 
hoarsely: 

"  Douse  that  glim,  Ned!  I'm  all  right! "  and  in 
another  moment  the  well-nigh  exhausted  skipper 
was  floundering  in  the  water  alongside. 

In  order  to  give  the  yacht  as  much  chance  as  pos- 
sible of  remaining  under  cover  of  the  darkness, 
Morgan  on  landing  had  crept  do^vn  the  beach  for 
several  hundred  yards,  to  await  there  the  proper 
moment  for  firing  his  flares.  After  setting  them 
off — all  except  one,  the  percussion  cap  of  which 
had  failed  to  explode  when  the  striker  had  been  re- 
leased— ^he  ran  back  along  the  shore,  and  swam  out 
to  sea  in  the  direction  in  which  he  judged  that  the 
yacht  would  be  waiting  for  him. 

After  swimming  out  some  distance  he  stopped, 

96 


I  M  ALL  RIGHT 


ZEEBRUGGE 

and  treading  water  began  to  look  about  in  the  dark- 
ness for  some  sign  of  his  boat.  Backwards  over 
his  shoulder  he  had  seen  the  flashing  search-light 
of  the  yacht  away  down  opposite  the  spot  where 
some  of  his  flares  were  still  burning  fitfully.  He 
had  at  once  turned  and  started  to  swim  down  to- 
ward the  light.  The  swim  was  a  long  one,  the 
water  was  very  cold,  and  he  was  almost  exhausted 
when  his  eager  friends  drew  him  on  board. 

But  those  on  board  the  boat  did  not  get  this  ex- 
planation till  some  time  later.  As  soon  as  Morgan 
could  control  his  panting  breath  sufficiently  he 
directed  the  boatswain's  mate  to  steer  a  course  for 
the  bridge,  about  which  at  that  moment  evidences 
of  great  excitement  were  beginning  to  show. 

They  had  barely  started  upon  their  new  course, 
and  were  still  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  mile  distant 
from  the  bridge  when  the  explosion  of  the  sub- 
marines, as  already  described,  took  place.  Jack 
Morgan,  exhausted  though  he  still  was,  at  once 
sprang  to  take  the  wheel  himself.  All  on  board 
were  awed  momentarily  to  silence  by  the  dreadful 
magnificence  of  the  lurid  spectacle. 

They  speedily  drew  near  the  gap  in  the  break- 
water where  the  bridge  had  been.  There  the  four 
plucky  motor-boats  that  had  taken  off  the  crews 
of  the  submarines  were  still  cruising  about  among 
the  floating  debris,  looking  for  survivors  of  the  ex- 

97 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  5.  ARMT 

plosion,  if  such  there  might  be  any  on  the  water. 
The  batteries  on  the  breakwater  and  mole  were 
silent. 

When  the  young  skipper  saw  that  the  services  of 
his  boat  and  her  crew  were  not  needed  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  bridge  he  steered  a  course  concentric  with  the 
outer  curve  of  the  mole,  with  the  intention  of  actu- 
ally entering  the  harbor  itself.  He  was  not  alone 
in  his  reckless  daring  among  the  youthful  com- 
manders of  the  little  American  mosquito  fleet. 


How  Zeebrugge  was  Blocked 

A— Position  of  the  three  cement  filled  cruisers  blocking 
the  entrance  from  the  Harbor  of  Zeebrngge  to  the 
great  canal  for  seagoing  ships. 

B—Great  basin  for  ships  lying  at  anchor. 

C— The  Harbor. 

Others  there  were  who  were  actuated  by  the  same 
brave  spirit.     One  and  all  the  little  motor  launches 

98 


ZEEBRUGGE 

had  behaved  in  the  most  gallant  manner,  dashing 
into  the  harbor  utterly  regardless  of  their  own 
safety  in  order  to  see  that  no  one  was  at  last  left 
behind  on  the  blockading  ships  when  they  were 
sunk  at  the  mouth  of  the  canal,  nor  on  the  mole 
when  the  signal  to  withdraw  should  be  finally 
given;  and  all  this  under  conditions  of  light  as 
bright  as  day  and  amid  an  incessant  hail  of  shrapnel 
and  high-explosive  shells.  Every  commander  and 
every  crew  displayed  the  greatest  pluck  and  de- 
termination. 

As  Morgan's  launch  skirted  along  the  mole  those 
aboard  her  could  see  silhouetted  against  the  bright 
lights  of  the  harbor  inside  the  masses  of  soldiers 
fighting  hand  to  hand  singly  and  in  groups  on  its 
top.  The  sight  was  rendered  all  the  more  awesome 
by  the  raging  conflagration  of  the  huge  freight 
sheds  there,  which  had  been  set  on  fire  by  de- 
tails of  the  attacking  forces  who  had  been  especially 
armed  with  flame-throwers  and  fumite  bombs  for 
that  purpose.  Every  now  and  then  the  explosion 
of  an  ammunition  dump  within  one  of  the  sheds 
added  to  the  light  and  uproar.  The  noise  of  the 
firing,  mingling  with  the  shouts  and  cries  of  the 
men,  was  terrifying. 

Two  miles  out  at  sea  the  cruisers  and  monitors  in- 
cessantly stabbed  the  darkness  with  a  spurting  arc 
of  red  flame  as  they  despatched  their  shrieking  mes- 

99 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

sengers  of  death  against  the  batteries  on  the  quays 
and  farther  inland. 

From  the  three  attacking  transports  more  than 
six  hundred  men  were  landed  upon  the  mole.  The 
Germans,  as  soon  as  they  saw  the  attacking  party 
land,  shouted  almost  with  one  voice: 

"Americans !     It's  the  Yankees ! "  ' 

While  these  various  auxiliary  operations  were 
being  carried  out,  under  cover  of  them  the  old 
cruisers  laden  almost  down  to  their  gunwales  with 
cemented  concrete,  which  were  intended  to  block 
the  canal,  made  their  way  through  the  harbor  ac- 
companied by  only  one  submarine  as  escort.  There 
were  five  of  them  at  first;  but  only  three  of  them 
reached  their  goal,  the  other  two  being  prematurely 
smik  by  shell-fire. 

The  three  which  won  their  way  through  were 
anchored  and  swung  around  on  their  cables.  In 
sinking  them  machinery  was  used  which  enabled 
their  crews  to  do  this  without  exploding  any  bombs 
within  them,  and  within  twenty-three  minutes  of 
the  time  their  anchors  were  dropped.  Not  a  shot 
was  fired  from  any  of  them. 

The  net  l^esult  of  this  famous  and  daring  opera- 
tion on  the  Harbor  of  Zeebrugge  was  the  destruc- 
tion of  every  gun  on  the  great  mole,  the  complete 

*This  fact  has  been  vouched  for  by  British  sailors  who  par- 
titipated  in  the  assault  on  the  mole  of  Zeebrugge  Harbor. 

ICO 


ZEEBRUGGk 

annihilation  of  the  great  sheds  along  its  entire 
length,  and  along  with  them  immense  stores  of 
ammunition,  and,  most  important  of  all,  the  ef- 
fectual blocking  of  the  canal  and  waterway  leading 
through  the  harbor. 

When  Morgan's  little  "  flivver  "  at  length  turned 
the  lighthouse  at  the  mole-head  and  made  her  way 
into  the  harbor  proper  her  young  skipper  was  for 
a  moment  undecided  which  way  to  turn.  His  first 
intention  was  to  make  for  the  position  where  the 
three  blockading  cruisers  were  even  then  in  the  act 
of  swinging  about  on  their  cables. 

Van,  on  perceiving  that  this  was  his  evident  in- 
tention, plucked  him  by  the  sleeve,  and  pointing  to 
where  the  troop  transports  lay  alongside  the  mole, 
shouted  in  his  ear: 

"  The  wounded!    They  are  taking  them  off ! " 

Morgan  seemed  to  catch  his  drift  at  once.  In- 
deed, he  could  hardly  help  having  done  so,  had  he 
been  never  so  dull  of  comprehension.  A  steady 
stream  of  casualties  were  being  carried  doAvn  the 
steep,  sloping  gangways  from  the  top  of  the  mole 
to  the  transports,  and  thence  across  their  decks  to 
motor-boats  that  lay  alongside  of  them.  By  these 
smaller  vessels  the  wounded  would  be  carried  with- 
out delay  to  the  great  cruisers  of  the  bombard- 
ing squadron. 

A  launch  that  had  already  received  its  quota  of 

lOI 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S,  ARMT 

wounded  pushed  off  from  the  largest  of  the  attack- 
ing ships,  and  Morgan,  without  orders  or  instruc- 
tions, guided  the  flivver  quietly  into  the  place 
left  vacant.  The  stretcher-bearers — who  had  no 
stretchers  there — began  to  pass  the  casualties  over 
the  side  at  once.  Every  one  on  board  Morgan's 
boat  lent  a  hand,  and  the  wounded  were  laid  groan- 
ing side  by  side  along  the  decks.  Thirty-two  men 
and  two  wounded  officers  in  all  they  took  on  board, 
and  then  they  pushed  off  to  make  room  for  still 
another  launch. 

This,  the  grisly  and  horrible  phase  of  war,  was 
Morgan's  first  experience  with  it,  and  he  never  in 
all  his  after  life  forgot  it.  For  himself  it  was  a  good 
thing  that  this  gruesome  aspect  of  it  all  was  pre- 
sented to  him  first.  Afterward  in  the  heat  of  the 
fray  the  recollection  of  it  tempered  the  vengeful 
fury  that  would  have  been  his. 

At  her  top  speed  of  twenty-eight  miles  an  hour 
the  little  motor-yacht  cut  her  way  through  the 
water  to  the  double  line  of  cruisers  and  monitors 
two  miles  out  at  sea.  Her  sad  load  was  quickly 
transferred  to  one  of  these,  and  again  Morgan 
headed  her  back  toward  Zeebrugge. 

When  they  were  half-way  there  the  terrific  bar- 
rage from  the  bombarding  ships  suddenly  ceased  for 
a  moment,  and  the  recall  signals  were  given.  This 
meant  that  the  blockading  ships  had  been  sunk  at 

102 


ZEEBRUGGE 

their  appointed  berths,  and  that  the  "  special  idea  " 
of  the  operation  had  been  accomplished.  Accord- 
ing to  orders  upon  this  signal  the  retirement  was  to 
begin  at  once,  and  each  vessel,  when  its  appointed 
task  was  finished  and  it  had  cleared  the  harbor,  was 
to  make  without  further  orders  for  its  own  home 
port. 

Jack  Morgan  had  already  exceeded  his  instruc- 
tions, which  had  regard  to  the  setting  off  of  the 
flares  only;  so  on  perceiving  the  recall  signal  he 
turned  over  the  wheel  to  the  boatswain's  mate,  who 
all  the  time  had  been  standing  fast  by  his  young 
skipper's  shoulder,  saying  in  a  tired  voice  merely: 

"Home,  Ned!" 

Harkness  took  a  squint  at  the  stars,  and  then  by 
them  and  his  compass  proceeded  forthwith  to  lay 
a  course  for  "  Blighty." 

The  bombing  ships  had  resumed  their  barrage  in 
order  to  cover  the  withdrawal  of  the  vessels  still 
within  the  harbor. 

Jack  Morgan  turned  to  his  two  friends,  and  in 
a  tone  unusually  mild  for  him,  said: 

"  I  must  go  aft  for  a  minute,  fellows,  and  wash 
up,  and  get  some  clothes  on." 

He  was  still  attired  only  in  the  wet  trousers  and 
black  engine  grease  he  had  worn  during  his  swim 
ashore. 

"All  right,  Jack!"  replied  Van  and  Storm  to- 

103 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

gether  and  in  almost  an  affectionate  tone,  although 
no  response  at  all  was  necessary. 

Morgan,  washed  and  dressed,  rejoined  them  in 
a  few  minutes.  Alreadj^  the  conflagration  and 
flares  of  Zeebrugge  were  growing  less  bright,  and 
lower  on  the  horizon  astern.  The  bombardment 
too  had  ceased,  and  from  this  they  knew  that  all 
of  their  comrades  who  would  ever  leave  Zeebrugge 
had  cleared  the  harbor-bar. 

"  Suppose  we  turn  in  for  a  while,  boys? "  asked 
the  naval  lieutenant.  "  For  my  part,  I  am  very 
tired.  The  watches  are  set,  and  if  anything  un- 
usual is  sighted  Ned  will  call  us." 

Van  and  Ralph  also  felt  strangely  wearied.  Al- 
though their  physical  exertions  had  been  incon- 
siderable, the  emotional  strain  had  been  tense  and 
exhausting.  So  they  were  glad  to  follow  the  young 
skipper  to  his  cabin. 

There,  after  seeing  that  the  port-hole  covers  were 
in  place,  Morgan  turned  on  the  blue-shaded  light 
that  served  little  more  than  to  make  the  darkness 
visible.  He  produced  blankets  from  the  lockers 
beneath  the  cushioned  benches  along  the  cabin's 
sides.  It  was  then  found  that  these  benches  were 
all  too  short  for  Van  Home's  great  length  of  body, 
and  with  some  subdued  merriment  they  made  him  a 
bed  diagonally  across  the  cabin  floor  and  between 
the  legs  of  the  chart-table  immovably  fastened  to 

104 


ZEEBRUGGE 

the  middle  of  the  floor.  Aiid  in  spite  of  what  thej^ 
had  just  gone  through  these  three  wholesome 
American  boys  were  soon  fast  in  dreamless 
sleep. 


105 


CHAPTER  VII 

NEWS  FROM  HOME 

**Take  up  our  quarrel  with  the  foe. 
To  you  from  falling  hands  we  throw 
The  torch — he  yours  to  hold  it  high; 
If  ye  break  faith  with  us  who  die, 
We  shall  not  sleep,  though  poppies  grow 
In  Flanders'  Fields/' 

—Col.  John  McCrae,  C.  E.  F. 

Next  morning  Rod  Van  Home  was  the  first  of 
the  trio  to  awake.  At  first  he  could  not  place  him- 
self, and  for  a  moment  lay  quiet,  gazing  up  in  mute 
wonder  at  the  unfinished  bottom  of  the  chart-table 
between  the  legs  of  which  he  lay  outstretched  upon 
the  cabin  floor. 

It  was  bright  daylight  once  more  and  Morgan's 
little  yacht  again  swung  upon  her  anchor  chain  in- 
dolently and  safely  in  Dover  Harbor. 

Van  glanced  at  his  wrist  watch,  and  perceiving 
that  it  was  high  time  for  them  to  be  astir,  if  Ralph 
and  he  were  to  catch  the  eight  o'clock  train  for 
London,  as  they  had  intended,  he  proceeded  care- 
fully to  extract  his  long  frame  backwards  from  be- 
neath the  table. 

He  got  to  his  feet  and,  as  was  his  wont  on  rising 

zo6 


t^EWS  FROM  HOME 

of  a  morning,  attempted  to  stretch  his  great  arms 
full  length  above  his  head ;  but  in  the  still  dim  light 
of  the  cabin  he  had  not  yet  fully  realized  his  posi- 
tion. The  top  of  his  bared  head  itself  almost 
grazed  the  cabin  roof,  and  the  sharp  and  sudden 
rapping  of  his  knuckles  against  the  low  rafters 
awakened  him  painfully  and  fully  to  a  clear  knowl- 
edge of  his  surroundings. 

Smiling  sleepily,  while  ruefully  caressing  the 
knuckles  of  one  hand  with  the  palm  of  the  other,  he 
glanced  around  at  his  two  friends  still  fast  asleep, 
outstretched  upon  their  backs  on  the  cushioned 
benches  that  ran  along  either  side  of  the  cabin. 

Storm,  his  arms  folded  across  his  chest  and  his 
rolled  coat  beneath  his  head  for  a  pillow,  slept  as 
quietly  as  any  babe.  He  scarcely  seemed  to 
breathe. 

Morgan,  on  the  other  hand,  muttered  uneasily 
and  unintelligibly  in  his  sleep.  One  of  his  hands 
hanging  down  over  the  side  of  the  bench  opened 
and  clenched  again  at  times.  In  his  uneasy  sleep 
he  looked  even  more  ugly,  if  possible,  than  when 
awake.  He  had  not  fully  removed  the  engine- 
grease  with  which  he  had  camouflaged  his  face  and 
body  the  night  before;  it  was  still  quite  thick  about 
his  eyes  and  ears. 

"  Poor  Jack,"  muttered  Van  Home  to  himself 
as  he  gazed  at  the  uneasy  sleeper,  "  you  got  your 

107 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U,  S.  ARMT 

baptism  of  fire  last  night  all  right;  but  you  are  not 
blooded  yet!" 

Then  he  turned  again  to  Storm,  who  was  nearest 
him,  and,  leaning  over  his  friend,  pressed  the  palm 
of  his  big  hand  gently  yet  firmly  upon  the  sleeping 
boy's  face. 

It  was  a  trick  he  had  learned  in  the  trenches.  A 
man  awakened  thus  seldom  cries  aloud  or  even 
speaks  at  once.  His  first  impulse  is  to  grab  at  the 
hand.  By  that  time  he  is  fully  awake  and  knows 
where  he  is.  To  be  sure,  there  was  no  need  of  such 
precaution  just  then;  Van  Home  merely  did  it 
from  force  of  habit  and  training. 

Storm  at  once  raised  his  hand  to  the  hand  resting 
lightly  upon  his  face,  and  then  opened  his  eyes  and 
looked  up. 

"  Time  to  get  up,  Ralph,  old  man,"  smiled  Van. 

"Yes?  What  time  is  it?"  queried  Storm,  at 
once  fully  awake,  and  swinging  his  feet  off  the  bunk 
and  his  body  simultaneously  to  a  sitting  position 
upon  it. 

"  It's  just  six-thirty,"  replied  Van  Home. 

"  Great  guns! "  yawned  Storm,  "  it  seems  as  if 
I  had  but  just  this  minute  stretched  out  to  go  to 
sleep.     Where  are  we  now,  anyway.  Van? " 

"At  anchor,  I  should  judge,"  replied  his  friend. 
"  We  must  be  safely  back  at  Dover.  I  have  just 
now  awakened  mj^self." 

io8 


NEIVS  FROM  HOME 

The  sound  of  their  voices  disturbed  Morgan. 
With  a  loud  cr}^ : 

"  The  bombs,  Ned,  the  depth  bombs!  "  he  sprang 
to  his  feet  with  one  bound. 

He  regarded  the  two  friends  dumbly  for  a  mo- 
ment. Then,  grinning  sheepishly  and  digging  his 
thick  knuckles  into  his  two  little  near-set  eyes,  he 
fell  back  into  a  sitting  position  on  his  bunk  again, 
saying: 

"  Guess  I  must  have  been  having  an  awful  night- 
mare, fellows.  I  thought  we  were  just  going  to 
run  over  that  awful  submarine  again.  What  time 
has  it  got  to  be,  anyway? " 

Then  glancing  at  his  watch  he  sprang  to  his  feet 
again,  saying  as  he  hurriedly  left  the  tiny  cabin  to 
receive  the  report  of  his  second  in  command: 

"  By  thunder!  I  forgot  to  leave  Ned  orders  to 
call  me  at  six  o'clock,  as  I  had  intended,  and  here  it 
is  six-thirty." 

A  moment  later  he  returned,  and  addressing  his 
friends  in  an  apologetic  tone,  said: 

"  Sorry,  fellows,  but  I'm  due  to  report  ashore  at 
seven.  I'll  not  have  time  to  have  breakfast  with 
you  fellows;  but  Ned  will  see  to  it  that  some 
breakfast  is  ready  for  you  two  before  you  go 
ashore." 

"  Not  at  all !  That  will  not  be  necessary,  old 
man.    Don't  mind  us !   We  wish  to  catch  that  train 

109 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  5.  ARMT 

for  London  that  leaves  Dover  at  eight  o'clock,  and 
we  can  get  a  bite  at  the  railway  station  restaurant," 
rejoined  Van  Home. 

"  It  doesn't  seem  like  treating  you  just  rights  to 
let  you  go  away  hungry,"  observed  Morgan,  "  but 
I  suppose  it  can't  be  helped  now." 

"  That's  all  right,  Jack,  we'll  accept  your  good 
intention  for  the  real  breakfast,"  laughed  Storm. 

"While  they  were  washing  up  at  the  buckets 
astern  the  crew  had  been  lowering  one  of  the  yacht's 
boats  alongside. 

After  bidding  Harkness  a  hearty  good-bj^e  with 
the  added  wish  that  they  might  all  meet  again  some 
time  Van  and  Storm  took  their  places  in  the  boat, 
in  the  stern  of  which  Morgan  had  already  seated 
himself.  With  Sam,  the  sturdy  handy-man  of  the 
yacht,  at  the  oars  they  were  soon  landed  upon  the 
quay. 

There  they  paused  before  separating  to  go  their 
different  ways,  Morgan  to  repair  to  Admiralty 
Headquarters  to  compile  his  report  of  his  share  in 
the  doings  of  the  night,  and  Van  Home  and  Storm 
to  make  their  way  to  the  railway  depot. 

"  I  want  to  thank  you,  Jack,"  said  Van,  grasp- 
ing the  young  sailor's  hand,  "  for  an  experience  that 
I  would  not  have  missed  for  the  world.  I  have 
scarcely  yet  begun  to  realize  what  a  big  show  it 


was." 


no 


NEWS  FROM  HOME 

"  It  was  certainly  some  night,"  grinned  the 
junior  naval  lieutenant. 

" '  Them  'ere's  my  sentiments  too,' "  quoted 
Storm  smilingly,  while  extending  his  hand  for  a 
good-bye  hand-shake  with  the  young  skipper. 

And  as  he  did  so  he  could  not  refrain  from  ob- 
serving mischievously: 

"  You  can  hardly  expect  us  to  agree  with  you, 
Jack,  in  any  statements  you  may  after  last  night 
make  regarding  the  monotony  of  your  job  in  the 
Navy.  Are  you  still  of  a  mind  to  transfer  to  the 
tanks?" 

"  Why,  yes,  I  surely  am.  Why  not?  "  rejoined 
Morgan  in  accents  of  surprise.  "  Just  as  likely  as 
not  I'll  be  ordered  out  on  harbor  patrol  again  to- 
day. And,  anyhow,  even  last  night  it  was  more 
like  going  to  a  moving-picture  show  than  anything 
else,  for  all  the  part  that  we  had  in  the  actual  fight- 
ing.    At  least  that's  the  way  it  struck  me." 

"  Well,  it  was  certainly  some  *  movie,'  at  that," 
laughed  Storm.  "Any  film  company  that  could 
have  photographed  one-tenth  of  what  we  saw  last 
night  would  never  need  to  worry  about  their  next 
film.  Their  fortunes  would  have  been  made  there 
and  then." 

"Good-bye,  Jack!"  said  Van  again.  "And 
when  you  do  get  into  the  *  tanks  '  I  hope  we'll  meet 
you  somewhere  in  France." 

Ill 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

"  Thanks,  I  hope  so,  too.  Good-bye  and  good 
luck  to  both  of  3^ou!  " 

In  London  and  at  their  hotel  once  again  Van  and 
Ralph  found  several  letters  awaiting  them. 

There  were  three  for  Storm ;  one  from  his  father, 
which  of  course  he  opened  first;  one  officially 
stamped  "  O.  H.  M.  S.,"  which  means  "  On  His 
Majesty's  Service  ";  and  one,  the  address  of  which 
he  recognized  to  be  in  the  once  familiar  handwriting 
of  Doctor  Wilde,  principal  of  their  old  school.  Dale 
Academy. 

Van  Home  had  a  like  number  of  epistles;  one 
official,  another  also  from  the  good  Doctor  Wilde, 
and  the  third  addressed  to  him  in  an  unfamiliar 
hand. 

Presently  Lieutenant  Storm  broke  in  upon  Van 
Home's  perusal  of  the  Doctor's  letter,  saying  in  a 
tone  of  boyish  excitement  that  he  could  not  help, 
even  though  all  along  he  had  been  expecting  to  re- 
ceive just  such  tidings: 

"  Good  news,  old  sobersides !  Dad  says  for  us  to 
come  right  over  to  France  at  once,  even  if  our  dis- 
charges from  the  C.  E.  F.  have  not  yet  officially 
come  through. 

"  He  says  that  we  shall  be  put  to  work  as  in- 
structors almost  at  once,"  pursued  Storm,  "  in  one 
of  our  own  camps,  as  we  are  very  much  needed 
there.     If  necessary  we  can  get  our  leaves  ex- 

112 


NEWS  FROM  HOME 

tended,  he  says,  after  we  get  there,  and  there  will 
be  no  difficulty  about  that." 

"  That's  fine,  Ralph,"  smiled  Van,  looking  up 
from  his  perusal  of  Doctor  Wilde's  letter,  in  which 
he  had  been  deeply  interested. 

"And  he  writes,  too,"  pursued  Ralph,  "  that  he 
has  just  had  a  communication  from  our  Overseas 
Naval  Headquarters  in  reply  to  his  personal  re- 
quest regarding  Jack  Morgan's  transfer  to  the 
'  tanks.' " 

"  I  do  hope  that  it  is  good  news  for  good  old 
Jack,"  interjected  Van  Home  fervently. 

"  It  is,"  rejoined  his  friend.  "  Dad  tells  me  that 
he  has  been  advised  that  Jack's  application  has  re- 
ceived favorable  consideration." 

"  That's  good  news,"  observed  Van  Home.  "  But 
look  here,  Ralph,"  he  continued,  "  aren't  we  rather 
imposing  on  your  father's  generous  good  nature  by 
always  asking  him  to  do  things  for  us?  " 

"  Not  at  all,"  returned  Ralph  with  assurance. 
"  Father  likes  to  do  those  things  for  us.  I  know 
he  does.  Why,  I'll  bet  it  gives  him  just  as  much 
pleasure  to  put  those  applications  through  for  us  as 
it  gives  us  to  have  them  go  through. 

"  But  I  see  you  have  a  letter  from  the  old 
school,  too,"  he  volunteered,  changing  the  sub- 
ject. 

"  Yes,  here's  one  from  Doctor  Wilde,  much  like 

"3 


FIGHTING  TFITH  THE  U.  5.  ^RMT 

yours,  probably.    What  has  the  good  old  Doctor  to 
say?" 

"  His  letter  is  almost  all  about  young  Matson, 
that  youngster  the  boys  used  to  call  *  Wiggler.' 
You  remember  him,  don't  you?  " 

"  Yes,  I  think  I  do,"  replied  Storm  a  trifle  dubi- 
ously, for  at  Dale  Academy  Ralph  had  not  con- 
cerned himself  much  with  what  he  was  at  that  time 
wont  to  call  "  the  small  fry." 

"  Rather  a  mischievous  kid,  wasn't  he?  A  pal  of 
young  Brooke's,  if  I  remember  rightly?" 

"  Yes,  that's  the  youngster.  Full  of  mischief  he 
was,  all  right,  just  as  you  say,"  replied  Van  Home, 
"  but  a  good-hearted  little  beggar,  and  just  as 
honest  as  the  sun,  even  at  that." 

"  Well,  what  about  him? "  queried  Storm  with- 
out much  apparent  interest,  as  he  picked  up  his 
official  letter  and  proceeded  to  tear  it  open. 

"  He  has  run  away  from  the  old  school,  and  Doc- 
tor Wilde  seems  to  be  in  a  peck  of  trouble  about  it." 

"What's  that  got  to  do  with  us?"  demanded 
Storm  carelessly,  proceeding  meanwhile  to  unfold 
his  letter. 

"Listen!"  rejoined  Van  Home. 

"  The  Doctor  says  that  the  old  school  is  fairly 
boiling  over  with  patriotism.  Every  boy  in  the 
school,  big  and  little,  he  says,  wants  to  join  either 
the  Army  or  Navy,  or  so  at  least  it  seems  to  him. 

114 


NEWS  FROM  HOME 

"  This  year's  senior  class,  he  writes,"  pursued 
Van  Home,  "  have  ahnost  all  gone;  in  fact  all  of 
them,  to  a  boy,  who  were  eligible  and  fit,  have 
signed  up  in  either  one  branch  of  the  Service  or  the 
other." 

"  Good  for  the  old  school! "  interjected  Storm, 
listening  with  more  show  of  interest.  "  I  hope  that 
we  may  run  across  some  of  them  over  there. 

"  But  what  about  young  Matson? "  he  queried. 

"As  I  have  already  told  you,  the  lad  has  run 
away  from  the  school.  They  can  find  no  trace 
of  him,  and  it  is  suspected  that  he  has  joined  either 
the  Army  or  Navy  under  an  assmned  name.  He 
was  a  pretty  well  developed  youngster  physically, 
you  know,  even  when  we  were  there,  Ralph,  and 
could  easily  pass  for  a  year  or  two  older  than  he 
really  is." 

"Well,  why  is  the  Doctor  writing  to  us  about 
it?  I  suppose  he  wants  us  to  keep  an  eye  open  for 
the  kid  over  here,  eh?  " 

"  Yes,  Ralph,  that's  it,  and  he  wants  us  to  write 
him,  if  we  run  across  the  youngster,  or  hear  any- 
thing about  him." 

"  Well,  I  for  one,"  rejoined  Storm,  glancing 
again  over  the  official  document  now  outspread  be- 
tween his  hands,  "  glory  in  the  youngster's  spunk, 
and  I'll  not  feel  very  much  inclined  to  squeal  on 
him  if  I  do  chance  to  run  across  him, 

"5 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  XL  S.  ARMT 

"  I  think  it  would  be  a  shame,"  he  continued,  **  to 
have  the  kid  ignominiously  dragged  back  home  like 
a  baby,  after  he  has  been  man  enough  to  make 
his  way  over  here;  provided  always  that  he  has 
done  so." 

"  That's  not  the  Doctor's  idea,  either,"  smiled 
Lieutenant  Van  Home,  glancing  again  at  the  letter 
in  his  hand. 

"It  is  not  to  drag  him  back,  as  you  put  it,  that 
Doctor  Wilde  wishes  to  find  out  his  whereabouts. 
Wiggler  has  two  brothers  considerably  older  than 
himself,  it  seems.  They  are  very  anxious  to  locate 
the  boy  so  that  they  can  keep  tabs  on  him  to  some 
extent  at  least.  They  do  not  intend  to  claun  a 
discharge  for  him  against  his  will  if  he  is  found  to 
be  in  either  branch  of  the  Service. 

"  The  dear  old  Doctor  himself  is  very  careful  to 
exi)lain  that  he  would  not  for  one  moment  ask  us 
to  play  the  spy  on  the  kid." 

"  Then  what  does  he  want?  "  queried  Storm. 

"  He  merely  wishes  us  to  tell  the  boy,  in  case  we 
come  across  him.  And  we  are  to  assure  him  that 
they  will  give  their  consent  to  his  remaining  in  the 
Service,  if  he  will  only  write  to  them  occasion- 
ally." 

"  Oh,  that's  different,"  observed  Storm.  "  That 
puts  quite  another  face  on  it.  In  that  case  I'll  not 
only  tell  the  kid  to  write  home;  but  I'll  jolly  well 

ii6 


NEWS  FROM  HOME 

see  that  he  does  it  too,  if  I  should  ever  happen  to 
run  into  him. 

"  But,  I  say,  Van,"  Storm  pursued,  as  he  held 
out  his  other  letter: 

"  This  is  the  official  acceptance  of  my  resignation 
as  an  officer  of  the  C.  E.  F.,  and  I  guess  yours  is 
in  that  long  blue  envelope  beside  you,  also." 

Van  Home  hastily  tore  open  his  official  envelope 
and  quickly  scanned  its  meagre  contents. 

"  Yes,  this  is  mine  also,"  he  sang  out  joyfully. 
"  Now  we  need  lose  no  further  time  in  getting  over 
to  France,  and  mixing  up  once  more  with  the  fel- 
lows from  the  good  old  U.  S.  A." 

The  eyes  of  the  usually  and  naturally  self -re- 
strained Van  Home  shone  with  delight  and  excite- 
ment, and  he  hastily  arose  from  his  chair. 

Whereat  Storm  began  to  laugh,  saying,  "Are 
you  going  to  walk  over,  or  will  you  wait  for  the 
boat?  But  I  see  you  have  still  another  letter  there. 
Van.  Perhaps  you  had  better  see  what  it  is  about, 
too,  before  we  start?  " 

"  That's  right,  Ralph,"  agreed  Van  Home,  re- 
suming his  seat  a  bit  shamefacedly  at  having  so 
boyishly  displayed  his  great  joy  at  the  prospect  of 
getting  into  immediate  active  service  again,  and 
especially  as  a  soldier  in  the  A.  E.  F. 

Then  relapsing  into  silence,  he  picked  up  and 
proceeded  to  open  his  remaining  letter,  the  one  ad- 

117 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

dressed  in  an  unfamiliar  hand,  while  Storm  became 
immersed  in  the  contents  of  the  letter  which  he  too 
had  received  from  the  principal  of  Dale  Academy. 

Presently  Van  observed,  "  I  say,  Ralph,  I  guess 
the  Duke  was  here  in  that  air  raid  a  few  days  ago, 
all  right  enough." 

"  The  Duke?  Oh,  yes.  You  mean  Dick 
Fletcher,  eh?  "  queried  Storm,  looking  up  from  the 
letter  and  evincing  great  interest  at  once  in  this 
new  topic  of  conversation. 

"  What  makes  you  think  so?  " 

"  This  is  a  letter  from  that  Lieutenant  Harding 
on  the  H.  Q.  Staff  of  the  B.  R.  A.  F.'  We  met 
him,  you  may  remember,  at  the  Army  and  Navy 
Club  some  few  days  ago." 

"  Yes,  I  remember,"  rejoined  his  companion. 

"  You  asked  him  to  find  out  for  us  whether  the 
old  Duke  was  flying  in  England  or  France,  and  to 
let  us  have  his  address,  if  he  could.  What  has  he  to 
say  about  it? " 

"  He  says  that  there  has  been  a  Lieutenant  Rich- 
ard Fletcher  attached  for  instructional  duty  to  the 
London  Division  of  the  Flying  Force  for  some 
weeks  past;  but  that  he  is  no  longer  there." 

"  I'll  just  bet  you  it  was  the  old  Duke  himself. 
Just  like  our  luck  to  miss  hmi !  Does  Harding  say 
where  he  is  now?  " 

*  British  Royal  Air  Force. 
Ii8 


NEWS  FROM  HOME 

"  Last  Saturday  only,  so  he  says,  Lieutenant 
Fletcher  was  temporarily  detailed  for  duty  at  the 
great  French  Aerial  Training  Camp  near  Paris. 
He  also  adds  that  the  Duke — that  is,  if  this  par- 
ticular Lieutenant  Fletcher  is  really  the  old  Duke — 
is  one  of  the  best  *  stunt '  flyers  in  the  B.  R.  A.  F." 

"  If  he  is  not  far  from  Paris,"  observed  Lieu- 
tenant Storm,  "  perhaps  we  may  have  a  chance  to 
visit  the  flying  camp  there  before  we  are  assigned 
to  work  with  our  own  army." 

"  I  certainly  should  like  to  see  him  if  we  possibly 
can  manage  it,"  assented  Van.  Then  he  added 
suddenly,  "  I  wonder  if  he  is  as  finicky  about  his 
dress  and  appearance  as  he  used  to  be." 

"  Trust  the  old  Duke  for  that,"  laughed  Lieu- 
tenant Storm. 

"  I'll  bet  he  really  does  sport  an  eye-glass  now. 
Do  you  remember  how  we  used  to  tease  him  about 
the  report  that  he  was  seen  wearing  a  monocle  one 
summer  down  at  Atlantic  City? " 

"  Yes,"  smiled  Van  reminiscently,  "  but  he  was 
always  there  with  the  goods  when  the  pinch  came, 
no  matter  what  he  went  into,  the  good  old  Duke ! 

"  But  seriously,  Ralph,  let's  get  busy.  I  think 
that  we  had  better  first  of  all  report  to  United 
States  Army  Headquarters  here  in  London,  before 
we  try  to  make  any  arrangements  for  crossing  over. 
What  do  you  think? " 

119 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U,  S.  ARMr 

"  Good  idea! "  assented  Storm,  rising,  "  and  we 
had  better  stop  in  at  some  tailor  shop  on  our  way 
to  H.  Q.  and  see  about  having  our  new  uniforms 
made." 

"  Oh,  yes,"  agreed  Van,  "  I  had  not  thought  of 
that  at  all." 


120 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  ANSWER 

**Fear  not  that  ye  have  died  for  naught, 
The  torch  ye  threw  to  us  is  caught, 
Ten  million  hands  will  hold  it  high, 
And  Freedom* s  light  shall  never  die. 
We've  learned  the  lesson  that  ye  taught 
In  Flanders'  Fields." 

— America's  Answer. 

The  two  friends  left  London  for  Paris  by  way 
of  the  Waterloo  Station,  touching  briefly  "  en 
route  "  at  Southampton,  loitering  for  the  greater 
part  of  one  day  in  the  quaint,  splendid  and  stately 
town  of  Le  Havre  in  France,  and  having  an  en- 
forced wait  of  a  few  hours  in  the  ancient  and  inter- 
esting city  of  Rouen. 

The  journey  teemed  with  interesting  sights  and 
incidents,  a  vivid  remembrance  of  which  Ralph  and 
Van  carried  with  them  throughout  all  their  after 
life.  And  not  the  least  interesting  part  of  the  jour- 
ney was  the  wonderful  port  of  Southampton,  in 
which  the  two  young  American  soldiers  found  them- 
selves waiting  for  the  cross-channel  passenger  boat 
just  two  days  after  their  conversation  last  above 
described  at  Claridge's  Hotel  in  London.  / 

121 


FIGHTING  TFITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

They  were  not  crossing  on  a  regular  troop  trans- 
port, for  it  must  be  remembered  that  they  were  no 
longer  in  the  service  of  King  George,  and  had  not 
yet  been  officially  enrolled  in  the  American  Ex- 
peditionary Force. 

The  port  of  Southampton  had  long  been  one  of 
the  sea-gates  of  old  England;  during  the  course 
of  the  Great  War  it  had  become  most  emphatically 
a  sea-gate  of  the  world. 

Two  opposing  streams  of  humanity  flowed  con- 
stantly through  it;  by  night  and  day  two  moving 
lines  that  seemed  as  they  must  never  terminate, 
one  coming,  one  going.  The  one  coming  bore  the 
scars  of  war,  and  was  decorated  with  that  wliite 
badge  of  honor,  the  bandage.  The  second  fared 
forth  to  fill  the  gaps  that  the  incomers  had  reluc- 
tantly left  behind  them.  Nearly  all  of  them  wore 
"  the  smile  that  doesn't  come  off — ever." 

It  was  early  the  following  morning,  not  yet  quite 
eight  o'clock,  when  the  two  friends  landed  in  the 
great  French  port  of  entry,  Le  Havre,  the  South- 
ampton of  France;  but  much  more  beautiful  than 
that  English  city.  There  also  the  two  streams, 
going  and  coming,  converged  and  passed  each  other. 
It  is  just  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  from 
Paris. 

Their  first  move  on  landing  was  to  ascertain  at 
what  time  the  next  passenger  train  left  for  the 

122 


THE  ANSWER 

French  capital.  To  their  regret,  for  they  were 
very  eager  to  press  on,  they  found  that  owing  to 
military  exigencies  there  was  but  one  regular  pas- 
senger train  leaving  Le  Havre  daily  for  Paris,  and 
that  this  one  was  scheduled  for  half -past  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

To  pass  the  time  away  Ralph  and  Van  resolved 
to  stroll  about  the  famous  old  seaport  leisurely,  and 
just  "  rubber,"  as  the  boys  at  their  old  school  used 
to  say. 

Shortly  before  noon  at  a  corner  of  the  Boulevard 
de  Strasbourg,  a  really  superb  thoroughfare,  re- 
markable for  its  generous  width,  they  had  paused  to 
listen  to  a  "  soap-box  "  orator,  a  Belgian,  who  was 
eloquently  expatiating  on  the  wrongs  his  native 
land  had  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the  Hun.  They 
imderstood  but  little  of  what  he  was  saying;  but 
they  could  readily  perceive  that  his  audience  was 
in  warm  sympathy  with  him. 

The  crowd,  as  Storm  expressed  it,  was  a  regular 
movie  show  of  bronzed  American,  British  soldiers 
and  sailors,  French  "  poilus,"  picturesque  police- 
men, and  quaintly  attired  civilians. 

All  at  once  a  sudden  burst  of  music — ^brass  band 
music — burst  upon  their  unbelieving  ears;  unbe- 
lieving, for  the  air  was  none  other  than  the  old 
familiar,  "  Hail,  hail,  the  gang's  all  here!  " 

The  gigantic  Van  Home  at  once  began  to  plough 

123 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  5.  ^RMT 


his  way  through  the  crowd — and  on  this  occasion 
not  with  his  wonted  gentleness  and  consideration 

toward  others  lacking  in  his 
great  strength  and  bulk — in 
that  direction  from  which  the 
inspiriting  music  came. 

With  a  little  inarticulate  cry 
of  joyful  surprise  Lieutenant 
Storm  made  haste  to  follow  in 
the  wake  of  his  huge  friend. 

Hardly  had  they  reached 
the  outskirts  of  the  crowd 
when  a  regiment  of  real  Amer- 
ican soldiers  headed  by  their 
regimental  band  and  with 
"  Old  Glory  "  flying  proudly 
in  front,  marched  briskly  into 
view. 

Brown,  alert,  erect,  intelli- 
gent, and  dangerously  fit,  with 
more  than  the  hint  of  a  swagger  to  their  broad 
shoulders,  the  regiment  approached  with  a  swing, 
and  passed.  It  was  a  sight  to  thrill  any  American 
on  foreign  soil. 

The  Belgian  orator  lost  his  audience.  Along 
both  sides  of  the  wide  street  the  people  turned  and 
followed  those  braves  from  the  sister  republic  over 
the  seas,  for  they  knew  that  this  particular  regiment 

124 


A  Feknch  "  POILU  " 

The  word  means  "hairy 

one." 


THE  ANSWER 

was  on  its  way  to  entrain  for  the  front.  Ralph  and 
Van,  as  enthusiastic  as  any  American  schoolboy 
when  a  free  show  is  on,  joined  the  moving  throng 
that  escorted  the  regiment. 

At  the  railway  depot  the  waiting  train  of  empty 
passenger  coaches  was  drawn  up  on  four  parallel 
tracks.  The  troop  train  was  thus  divided  into  four 
sections;  each  section  waited,  all  ready  to  move 
off  when  loaded  with  its  human  freight,  on  one  of 
the  parallel  side-tracks.  Each  battalion  of  the 
regiment,  and  the  H.  Q.  staff,  had  been  previously 
allotted  to  its  respective  section  of  the  train. 

To  a  civilian  the  systematic  dispatch  with  which 
the  battalions  broke  away  from  each  other,  filed 
out  onto  the  open  spaces  between  the  tracks,  each 
beside  its  own  section,  and  then  entrained  in  one 
steady  unhesitating  stream  till  the  very  last  man 
with  all  his  impedimenta  was  aboard,  would  have 
seemed  marvelous  indeed.  Yet  the  whole  pro- 
ceeding occupied  the  space  of  but  a  few  minutes. 
It  was  a  simple  but  excellent  example  of  the  value 
of  consistent  and  rigid  training  and  discipline. 

Van  Home  and  Storm  looked  on  with  glistening 
eyes,  their  hearts  away  up  in  their  throats.  And 
oh,  how  they  wished  that  they,  too,  might  right 
there  and  then  have  gone  along  with  those  other 
fellows  from  home. 

The  coach-windows  were  already  open,  and  very 

125 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

soon  each  framed  a  group  of  two  or  three  whole- 
some, sun-tanned  American  faces,  full  of  eagerness, 
full  of  curiosity,  full  of  expectation  in  regard  to  the 
near  future,  and  above  all  full  of  the  fresh  clean 
lives  they  had  been  living  in  the  open-air  camps  of 
their  own  dear  old  U.  S.  A. 

The  engine  attached  to  the  first  section  had  al- 
ready given  two  or  three  laboriously  protesting 
preliminary  puffs.  Its  driving  wheels  had  gripped 
the  slippery  rails,  and  the  first  two  or  three  coaches 
had  already  felt  the  reluctant,  shuddering  jolt  of 
the  first  intention  to  start,  when  another  train 
pulled  softly  and  silently  into  the  great  military 
depot  of  Le  Havre,  and  stopped  noiselessly  and 
without  a  jar  on  the  next  track.  It  was  but  one 
of  the  many  Red  Cross  trains  that  arrived  there 
many  times  daily. 

From  its  open  windows  looked  and  leaned  the 
"  sitting-up  "  and  "  walking  "  cases. 

Most  dramatic  was  the  situation.  The  robust 
soldiers  from  the  New  World — "  going  in  " — were 
face  to  face  with  the  broken  heroes  of  the  Old 
World — "  coming  out."  But  a  foot  or  so  of  space 
separated  them.  So  close  were  they  that  they 
might  have  clasped  hands;  but  for  a  space  in  a 
silence  that  was  tense  they  merely  gazed  deeply 
into  each  other's  eyes.     Deep  had  met  deep. 

Our  two  profoundly  impressed  young  American 

126 


THE  ANSWER 

officers,  looking  on  with  almost  bated  breaths,  could 
plainly  see  in  the  faces  of  their  own  raw  troops  the 
most  intense  interest  and  the  deepest  admiration 
and  respect — almost  amounting  to  awe — for  those 
comrades  in  arms  of  theirs  who  had  already  proved 
themselves,  and  had  not  been  found  wanthig. 

And  in  the  eyes  too  of  those  fresh  young  faces 
from  overseas,  Ralph  and  Van  saw  also  a  strange 
dumb  kind  of  promise  that  they  too  in  their  turn 
would  carry  on  where  those  war-worn  veterans  had 
been  forced  to  leave  off. 

For  a  space  no  man  spoke.  Silently  the  vet- 
erans gazed  appraisingly  into  the  faces  opposite 
their  own  as  the  American  troop  train  gradually  got 
under  way  and  began  to  glide  past  them.  Then  all 
at  once  a  thin  voice,  from  one  whose  face  was  stuck 
together  with  adhesive  plaster,  and  whose  bandaged 
left  arm  rested  in  a  sling,  broke  the  emotion-fraught 
hush  with  the  old  familiar  cry: 

"  Are  we  down-hearted?  " 

The  tension  snapped.  A  roar  arose  from  both 
trains  that  would  have  done  your  heart  good  to 
hear. 

It  brought  smiles  to  the  lips  of  Lieutenant  Van 
Home  and  Storm;  but  it  brought  unshed  tears  to 
their  eyes  too. 

"No,  no,  no-o-o!"  the  American  soldier  lads 
roared  back  the  answer ;  and  there  was  magic  music 

127 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

in  the  prolonged  rise  and  fall  of  sound  that  rolled 
and  rolled  and  died  away  in  wave  after  wave  till 
the  train  at  rest  and  the  moving  one  were  separated 
by  more  than  a  hundred  yards.  Even  then  the 
music  of  it  died  away  reluctantly  and  slowly. 

"  Wasn't  that  wonderful.  Van?  "  breathed  Storm 
with  a  sigh  of  relief. 

"  Simply  great!  I  wouldn't  have  missed  it  for 
the  world,"  responded  his  huge  companion  fer- 
vently. 

Then  the  two  boys  relapsed  into  silence  again  as 
the  other  sections  of  the  American  train  in  their 
turn  picked  up  the  cheering  as  each  section  one 
after  another  was  afforded  a  view  of  the  Red  Cross 
train,  and  belatedly  learned  the  reason  for  the  pre- 
ceding successive  outbursts. 

It  took  the  two  friends  all  of  fifteen  hours  to  cover 
the  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  by  railway 
from  Le  Havre  to  the  French  capital. 

When  they  did  eventually  arrive  in  Paris  they 
were  met  at  the  great  Gare  *  St.  Lazaire  by  Ralph's 
father,  who  gave  the  boys  a  warm  welcome  and  at 
once  bundled  them  off  to  his  hotel.  There  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Storm  informed  the  two  young 
soldiers  that  they  were  both  to  be  detailed  for  duty 
as  soon  as  they  reported  at  the  United  States  Army 
Headquarters,  and  that  so  far  as  he  then  knew, 

*Gare:  French  for  railway  station. 
128 


THE  ANSWER 

they  were  destined  for  the  same  training  camp  as 
instructors. 

"  You,  Ralph,"  the  Lieutenant-Colonel  said  to 
his  son,  "  I  believe,  have  been  temporarily  attached 
as  a  bombing  instructor. 

"And  you,  Rodman,"  he  went  on  more  posi- 
tively, addressing  his  son's  gigantic  chum,  "  I  am 
glad  to  be  able  to  inform  you,  have  been  placed  in 
charge  of  the  instructional  classes  for  *  Gas 
Officers  '  at  the  same  camp. 

"  Of  course  you  have  both  been  permanently 
appointed  as  lieutenants  to  the  same  regiment,  now 
down  on  the  Lorraine  sector;  but  I  believe  that 
these  temporary  appointments  have  been  based 
upon  inquiries  officially  made  as  to  your  respective 
special  qualifications." 

"  That  suits  me,"  interjected  his  son.  "  How 
does  it  strike  you.  Van? " 

"  I'm  satisfied,"  rejoined  Van  Home  gravely. 
"  You  see,  I  qualified  as  a  *  Gas  Officer '  at  one 
of  the  new  schools  of  instruction  in  England  while 
I  was  a  '  walking-out '  case  at  the  convalescent  hos- 
pital.    I  found  it  very  interesting." 

"  I  have  no  doubt  of  it,  you  dear  old  thing," 
laughed  Storm,  who  was  just  bubbling  over  with 
happiness  at  the  good  news  they  had  received. 

"  You  know.  Father,  Van  would  much  rather 
save  life  than  destroy  it,  even  for  a  German,  I  do 

129 


FIGHTING  TFITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMY 

believe.  And  it's  the  *  Gas  Officer's  '  main  business 
to  make  us  all  safe  from  the  gas,  you  know." 

"  The  feeling  is  a  commendable  one,  Ralph,"  re- 
joined his  father  gravely,  "  and  I  hope  that  you, 
too,  share  it,  my  son. 

"  But  I  have  not  much  time  to  spend  with  you 
two  boys  to-day,  I  regret  to  say,  for  I  have  several 
important  appointments  which  will  occupy  all  of 
this  morning." 

Then  glancing  inquiringly  at  them,  for  they  were 
both  still  wearing  their  Canadian  uniforms,  he 
asked: 

"  What  have  you  done  about  getting  your  new 
American  uniforms? " 

"  We  have  ordered  complete  outfits  in  London," 
replied  his  son.  "  They  ought  to  be  here  by  the  day 
after  to-morrow. 

"  I  was  able  to  get  a  coat  to  fit  myself,  all  ready- 
made;  but  they  had  nothing  in  stock  large  enough 
for  Van,  and  we  both  want  to  report  for  duty  at 
the  same  time." 

"  That  being  the  case,"  returned  his  father,  "  it 
will  be  as  well  to  await  the  arrival  of  your  uniforms 
before  reporting.  I  am  sorry,  boys,  that  I  cannot 
be  with  you  to-day.  Perhaps  I  shall  have  more 
leisure  to-morrow." 

They  then  told  the  Lieutenant-Colonel  about 
Dick  Fletcher,  their  old  friend,  "  The  Duke,"  and 

130 


THE  ANSWER 

how  they  had  learned  that  he  was  then  attached  as 
an  instructor  to  the  Aviation  Camp,  located  but 
a  few  miles  beyond  the  outer  fortifications  of 
Paris. 

"  You  will  need  a  pass  to  visit  the  Camp,"  vol- 
unteered Lieutenant-Colonel  Storm,  "  and  if  yon 
will  accompany  me  to  the  H.  Q.  of  the  C.  E.  F. 
where  I  am  presently  going,  I  will  procure  one  for 

you." 

Before  they  left  the  hotel  Ralph  had  also  made 
his  father  acquainted  with  the  contents  of  their  re- 
cent letters  from  Doctor  Wilde  concerning  the  run- 
away, "  Wiggler."  The  Lieutenant- Colonel  prom- 
ised to  keep  his  eyes  open,  too,  for  the  youngster, 
and  to  pass  the  word  along  throughout  the  Fores- 
try Corps,  to  be  on  the  lookout  for  the  lad. 

"And  I  have  no  doubt  that  you  boys  will  meet 
many  of  your  other  old  schoolmates  over  here  by 
this  time,  for  reinforcements  are  now  arriving  from 
the  United  States  in  a  steady  stream,"  observed  the 
elder  Storm. 

"  Yes,  I  think  that  we  shall.  Father,"  responded 
his  son.  "  Already  we  know  of  another  class- 
mate who  is  in  the  U.  S.  Artillery.  You  remember 
Shorty  Lawson,  don't  you,  Father?  I  introduced 
him  to  you  that  last  time  you  were  down  at  the 
old  school." 

"  I  can't  say  that  I  do,  Ralph,"  smiled  his  father. 

131 


FIGHTING  IVITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

"  You  introduced  me  to  so  many  of  the  boys  then, 
you  laiow.  But  I  shall  be  very  glad  indeed  to  meet 
any  of  them  again." 


132 


CHAPTER  IX 

BAPTISTE 

'*A  year  ago  the  captain  was  instructor  in  a  college, 
The  sergeant  was  a  plumber,  and  the  corporal  a  clerk; 
The  privates  had  no  glimmering  of  military  knowledge, 
For  they'd  never  run  across  it  in  their  ordinary  work," 

Having  secured  the  necessary  passes,  Van  and 
Ralph,  via  La  Rue  d'Allemagne,  motored  out  to 
the  Aviation  Camp  situated  some  few  miles  beyond 
the  outer  fortifications  of  the  city.  For  Paris, 
be  it  known,  is  entirely  surrounded  by  three  sepa- 
rate girdles  of  fortifications ;  the  inside  belt  was  con- 
structed between  1840  and  1844;  the  outer  one  is 
the  last  word  in  defensive  military  engineering. 

Lieutenant- Colonel  Storm  had  also  procured  for 
them  a  letter  of  introduction  to  the  Captain  Adju- 
tant of  the  Flying  School,  a  precaution  which 
smoothed  the  way  for  them.  Lieutenant  Fletcher, 
they  were  informed,  although  they  were  not  yet  sure 
that  this  was  the  Dick  Fletcher  of  their  acquaint- 
ance, had  but  an  hour  or  so  before  their  arrival 
taken  his  class  up  for  their  morning's  schooling. 

The  "  Duke,"  if  it  were  really  he,  was  then  acting 

133 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

as  chief  instructor  to  the  finishing  class  consisting 
of  those  embryo  aviators  who,  having  successfully 
navigated  all  the  perils — and  they  were  many  and 
unforeseen — of  the  lower  grades,  had  at  length  ar- 
rived at  that  period  of  their  course  where  they  re- 
ceived finishing  instructions  in  manoeuvring  and 
flying  in  formations. 

Their  informant  could  not  tell  the  two  young 
officers  exactly  when  the  young  American  in- 
structor would  return  with  his  "  escadrille."  It 
might  be  before  noon,  and  perhaps  not  till  later  in 
the  day.  That  was  a  matter  that  rested  solely  with 
him.  If  everything  went  favorably  with  them, 
and  the  enemy's  "  avions  de  chasse  "  were  not  too 
much  in  evidence,  for  observation  practice  the  esca- 
drille  might  even  fly  as  far  as  their  own  front  lines. 

Would  they  care  to  wait? 

The  above  information  had  been  politely  af- 
forded by  the  adjutant  in  person,  to  whom  their 
letter  of  introduction  was  addressed,  and  he  it  was, 
too,  who  had  gracefully  asked  them  the  last  ques- 
tion. 

Van  and  Ralph  decided  to  wait  till  midday  at 
least,  and  expressed  a  desire  to  see  something  of 
the  process  of  training  that  prospective  bird-men 
had  to  undergo. 

The  adjutant  thereupon  dispatched  an  orderly 
to  find  the  Officer  of  the  Day.    This  young  officer 

134 


BAPTISTE 

was  formally  presented  to  the  two  friends,  and  the 
object  of  their  visit  to  the  Aviation  Camp  made 
known  to  him.  In  graceful  English  he  welcomed 
them  cordially,  and  at  once  offered  to  show  them 
about. 

"Ah,  yes,"  he  volunteered,  as  they  were  leaving 
Camp  Headquarters,  "  Lieutenant  Fletcher  left 
more  than  an  hour  ago,  and  when  the  Hawk  flies 
no  one  may  be  sure  when  he  will  return.  I  know 
the  Hawk  very  well,"  he  continued.  "  He  is  a 
very  good  friend  of  mine." 

At  the  aviation  officer's  first  use  of  the  word 
"  Hawk,"  the  two  American  boys  had  passed  it  over 
without  comment,  but  when  he  used  it  the  second 
time  in  connection  with  one  whom  they  believed 
to  be  their  old  schoolmate,  the  "  Duke,"  they 
glanced  in  inquiring  surprise,  first  at  him,  and  then 
at  each  other. 

Storm  ventured  the  query,  "  Is  that  the  name  by 
which  Dick  Fletcher  is  known  here?  " 

"  The  Hawk?  Yes,  all  the  Air  Force  know  him 
by  that  name.  Didn't  you  know  that  was  his  fly- 
ing title? " 

"  No,"  replied  Storm;  "  at  school  we  used  to  call 
him  '  The  Duke.'  " 

"  Mais  oui,"  laughed  the  French  aviation  officer, 
"  I  know  the  reason  for  that,  I  think.  Notre  ami, 
Fletcher,  is  so  very,  very  particular,  n'est-ce  pas?  " 

^135 


FIGHTING  WITR  THE  U.  5.  ARMT 

"  Yes,  that  was  it,"  answered  Van.  "  But  why 
is  he  now  called  *  The  Hawk '?  " 

"  C'est  bien  simple,"  rejoined  the  flight  lieu- 
tenant. "  Your  friend  and  mine  was  one  of 
the  first  of  us  flyers  who  ever  took  prisoners 
and  personally  conducted  them  back  into  our 
lines. 

"  It  was  during  one  of  the  recent  big  shows. 
The  Hawk  was  flying  low  over  the  battle-field, 
letting  the  Germans  have  *  what  for '  from  his 
M.  G.,'  when  he  saw  a  full  platoon  of  the  enemy 
headed  for  their  own  rear. 

"  The  Hawk  attacked  them  alone.  After  a  few 
shots  only  he  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  ran  out 
of  ammunition. 

"  But  that  didn't  bother  the  Hawk  much,"  went 
on  the  young  aviator  smilingly.  "  He  just  dropped 
down  lower  still  and  began  shooting  off  his  signal 
rockets  at  them.  This  was  so  unusual — it's  not  laid 
down  in  the  rule  books,  you  know — it  scared  and 
confused  the  Germans  so  that  they  threw  up  their 
hands,  and  turning  began  to  flee  at  full  speed 
toward  our  lines. 

"All  the  way  back  until  they  were  taken  into  cus- 
tody by  some  of  our  men  the  Hawk  circled  above 
them  like  the  bird  of  prey  itself  that  he's  named 
after,  every  now  and  then  letting  them  have  a 

*  Machine  gun. 

136 


BAPTISTE 

rocket  to  keep  them  moving  at  the  double,  and  to 
keep  their  hands  up." 

"  The  dear  old  thing!  "  chuckled  Storm.  "  That 
sounds  just  like  the  old  Duke.  Don't  you  think 
so,  Van?" 

Van  smiled  assent,  but  said  nothing,  for  his  at- 
tention was  just  then  all  taken  up  by  the  strange 
panorama  that  was  gradually  unfolding  itself  as 
they  leisurely  surmounted  the  crest  of  a  gentle 
elevation. 

A  smoothly  undulating  stretch  of  country,  bald 
of  all  obstacles  save  those  placed  there  by  the  hand 
of  man  for  his  present  purposes,  about  two  miles 
long  by  more  than  a  mile  across,  was  the  field  of 
practice  upon  which  more  than  a  hundred  embryo 
bird-men  were  then  disporting  themselves,  as  if 
playing  with  some  strange  gigantic  toys  in  a  man- 
ner most  curious  and  most  grotesque. 

The  three  officers  paused  for  a  moment  on  the 
crest  of  the  low  eminence  to  take  in  the  general 
aspect  of  what  seemed  at  first  glance,  to  the  two 
lieutenants  of  infantry  at  least,  but  one  vast  play- 
ground given  over  to  the  untrammeled  antics  of 
hundreds  of  raving  maniacs,  each  one  of  whom 
seemed  intent  on  some  stunt  more  fantastic  than  the 
one  his  neighbor  was  attempting.  It  was  wonder- 
fully interesting,  and  at  first  view  strangely  funny. 

Later,  Van  and  Storm  knew  that  the  great  prac- 

137 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

tice  field  was  definitely  divided  into  four  sections 
running  parallel  with  each  other.  The  students 
also,  they  later  perceived,  were  divided  into  classes. 

Their  guide,  the  Orderly  Officer  of  the  Day,  told 
them  that  each  class  had  its  own  apportioned  sec- 
tion of  the  practice  ground. 

It  was  the  varied  and  widely  differing  perform- 
ances of  the  several  classes  all  going  on  at  once, 
combined  with  the  untoward  vagaries  of  individual 
performers,  that  lent  to  the  whole  such  an  in- 
describable and  bewildering  "  tout  ensemble.*' 


The  "penguin  " — or  training  plane,  usually  made  by  shortening 
the  wings  of  an  ordinary  scouting  plane  so  that  it  has  not 
much  lifting  power.  It  therefore  makes  short  flying  hops,  like 
the  awkward  bird  for  which  it  is  named. 

Nearest  them  was  a  group  of  stunted  planes  that 
scudded  and  skipped  along  the  smooth  sward  like 
a  flock  of  crazy  chickens,  all  meaning  to  go  in  the 
same  direction,  but  zigzagging  hither  and  thither 
as  if  without  any  settled  purpose.  They  ran  right 
toward  each  other,  missed  colliding  by  miracles, 
and  scooted  away  from  each  other,  onlv  to  turn 

138 


BAPTISTE 

again  as  if  with  a  sudden  and  desperate  resolve  to 
run  each  other  down  for  sure;  they  seemed  simply 
frantic,  so  erratic  were  they. 

"  That  certainly  looks  like  some  sport,"  laughed 
Ralph. 

"Yes,"  smiled  the  young  "ace"  who  accompanied 
them.  "  But  it's  hard  work,  too.  We  call  those 
short-winged  planes  *  rollers  '  or  *  penguins,'  be- 
cause they  do  not  leave  the  ground." 

"  This  is  the  *  a^  b,  c '  class,  eh?  "  queried  Ralph. 

"  Yes,  you  might  call  them  that,"  replied  the 
aviator  officer. 

"  On  those  machines  the  students  are  merely 
learning  to  steer  straight  with  their  feet.  It  is  very 
difficult  at  first.  That  is  the  first  stage  of  their 
work  in  real  live  planes  that  can  move  at  all.  Up 
till  now  they  have  been  practicing  inside  with  sta- 
tionary machines  only." 

"A  little  further  over  there  they  all  seem  to  be 
just  flopping  up  and  down  off  the  ground? "  ob- 
served Van  in  an  inquiring  tone,  at  the  same  time 
pointing  with  his  stick  to  the  group  he  wished  to 
indicate. 

"  That's  just  what  they  are  doing,"  replied  their 
mentor. 

"  That's  what  we  call  '  pan-caking.'  The  ma- 
chines those  fellows  are  using  can  rise  only  five  or 
six  feet  off  the  ground.     The  trick  they  are  learning 

139 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMr 

is  to  light  flat  on  both  wheels  without  striking  their 
tails  or  wings  against  the  ground." 

"And  a  pretty  good  name  for  it,  too,"  volun- 
teered Storm. 

"  They  look  to  me  for  all  the  world  like  great 
giants  throwing  themselves  flat  upon  their  stom- 
achs on  the  ground,  with  their  arms  spread  out  as 
far  as  they  can  get  them.  Every  time  I  see  one 
of  them  about  to  flop  I  expect  to  hear  it 
grunt." 

"  Those  you  see  farther  on  over  there,  rising 
quite  a  little  way  up  into  the  air,  about  fifty  feet  or 
so,"  smiled  their  aviator  companion,  "  and  then  im- 
mediately starting  to  come  down  again  head  first 
at  a  pretty  sharp  angle,  are  practicing  '  piquing.* 
That's  the  third  stage  of  our  education. 

"  To  make  good  landings  is  one  of  the  most 
difficult  things  we  have  to  learn,"  he  continued. 

"  Piquing  is  the  ordinary  method  of  landing. 
When  you  judge  you  are  near  enough  to  the 
ground,  you  pull  back  your  '  control '  so  as  to  throw 
up  the  tail-elevator;  then  you  run  along  for  a  little 
way  and  land  gradually.  It's  some  stunt  when  the 
ground  is  rough." 

"  I  can  quite  agree  with  you,"  observed  Van 
sententiously.  "  I  fear  that  I  shouldn't  be  of  much 
use  in  the  Flying  Corps." 

"  The   fourth   class,"   pursued   their   courteous 

140 


BJPTISTE 

young  mentor,  "is  *  La  Classe  de  Perfectionne- 
ment.'     Your  friend,  Lieutenant  Fletcher " 

"  The  Hawk?  "  interposed  Storm  with  a  grin. 

"  Yes,"  smiled  the  other,  and  went  on,  "  He  has 
the  fourth  class  out  on  reconnaissance  practice  to- 
day; otherwise  you  would  be  able  to  see  them  try- 
ing out  some  very  interesting  and  more  or  less 
dangerous  stunts  here.  Theirs  is  the  most  inter- 
esting work  of  all  to  watch." 

"  What  kind  of  stunts  do  they  try? "  queried 
Storm.  "  Such  things  as  looping  the  loop  and  that 
sort  of  thing,  I  suppose?  " 

"  Yes,  that,  and  sliding  on  their  wings  or  their 
tails,  going  into  corkscrews — and  getting  out  of 
them  again,  which  is  far  harder  and  more  im- 
portant," the  young  "  ace  "  added  dryly. 

"  This  afternoon,"  he  volunteered,  "  the  whole 
school  will  have  machine-gun  practice ;  some  on  the 
ground  and  some  in  the  air." 

The  trio  then  moved  down  from  the  little  hill 
on  which  they  had  been  standing,  and  went  in  turn 
as  closely  as  was  safe  to  each  group  or  class  in  order 
to  get  a  more  intimate  view  of  their  individual  per- 
formances. So  interested  and  amused  were  they 
for  some  time  as  to  be  quite  oblivious  of  its  passing, 
and  it  was  midday  before  they  realized  it. 

Lieutenant  Fletcher,  or  "The  Hawk,"  as  his 
colleagues  of  the  Air  Force  called  him,  had  not  yet 

141 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U,  S.  ARMY 

returned  with  his  "  escadrille,"  and  our  two  young 
friends  were  reluctantly  compelled  to  begin  their 
return  journey  to  Paris  without  having  had  the 
pleasure  of  meeting  their  old  schoolmate. 

All  France  at  that  time  was  but  one  tremendous 
tragedy  made  up  of  millions  of  minor  heart-breaks. 
Many  were  the  pathetic  groups  resting  by  the  way- 
side, or  plodding  along  painfully  and  patiently 
afoot,  that  the  two  friends  passed  that  day,  as  in 
their  hired  motor-car  they  sped  along  La  Rue 
d'Allemagne,  one  of  the  great  cobblestoned 
arteries  leading  direct  to  the  heart  of  Paris  from  a 
northeasterly  direction,  on  their  return  journey 
from  the  aviation  camp. 

Coming  from  the  city  they  passed  soldiers  only; 
the  civilian  travelers  were  all  going  the  other  Avuy — 
"  Nach  Paris,"  as  was  at  one  time  the  German  war- 
cry. 

Storm  called  his  friend's  attention  to  the  manner 
in  which  the  stocky  "  poilus,"  even  when  without 
their  great  heavy  packs  on  their  backs,  walked  from 
force  of  long  habit  with  feet  apart  and  stiff-legged 
from  hip  to  heel.  They  all  had  that  gait.  Months 
and  months  of  heavily  burdened  marching  along 
roads  that  were  such  in  name  only,  through  com- 
munication trenches  with  slimy  beveled  bottoms, 
and  over  shell-pocked  fields,  had  given  that  labored 

attitude  to  them. 

142 


BAPTISTE 

"  Yes,  I  have  noticed  it,"  replied  Van,  "  but, 
though  their  bodies  are  war-worn  and  weary,  their 
indomitable  gay  spirit  always  remains.  It  shines 
from  their  eyes,  and  smiles  from  their  lips  always. 

"  But  I  was  paying  more  attention  to  those  poor 
refugees  whom  we  see  constantly  passing,"  he  con- 
tinued. "  We  have  room  for  two  more  in  this  car, 
and  I  am  sure  the  chauffeur  will  not  object  if  we 
offer  to  pay  the  extra  fare." 

"  Great  minds  think  alike.  Van.  I  was  just 
thinking  something  similar.  But  all  the  groups  we 
have  passed  so  far  seemed  to  be  *  en  famille,'  as  the 
French  themselves  say,  and  composed  of  too  many 
for  us  to  take  the  whole  group  on. 

"  But  look! "  he  added,  seizing  his  friend's  arm 
and  pointing  directly  ahead  along  the  straight, 
poplar-bordered  stretch  of  road.  "  There  is  a 
lonely  pair  for  whom  we  have  lots  of  room !  " 

The  taxi  was  rapidly  overhauling  a  strangely 
assorted  pair,  plodding  along  by  the  roadside;  a 
man  and  a  little  girl — a  tiny  tot  who  could  not 
have  seen  more  than  five  previous  summers. 

When  Ralph  first  drew  the  attention  of  his  friend 
to  them,  the  man  was  carrying  the  little  one  on  his 
back,  pick-a-back  fashion;  but  even  as  they  looked 
he  lowered  her  carefully  to  the  cobblestones.  Even 
her  inconsiderable  weight  was  proving  too  much  for 
her  companion. 

143 


FIGHTING  fFITH  THE  U.  S,  ARMT 

It  was  not  altogether  the  difference  in  age  and 
size  that  at  first  glance  made  the  couple  seem  so 
ill-assorted;  it  was  their  dress  more  than  anything 
else. 

The  man's  attire  was  as  variegated  as  Joseph's 
coat  of  many  colors.  His  head  was  covered  with 
the  battered  cap  of  a  Canadian  infantryman.  His 
back  and  shoulders  were  draped  with  the  long, 
washed-out-blue  coat  of  a  French  poilu,  and  his 
legs  were  clad  in  the  striped  trousers  of  a  German 
prisoner  of  war.  On  his  left  foot  he  wore  the 
heavy  hobnailed  ankle  shoe  of  the  British  "  foot- 
slogger," and  on  his  right  the  cast-off  top-boot  of 
a  Prussian  Officer  of  the  Guard. 

The  dress  and  bonnet  of  the  little  girl,  whom  the 
derelict  was  leading  by  the  hand,  were  of  a  mode 
and  material  such  as  were  worn  only  by  the  chil- 
dren of  the  wealthier  classes,  as  they  existed  before 
the  war  broke  out.  Her  garments,  although  they 
must  have  seen  considerable  recent  rough  usage, 
were  still  comparatively  clean,  and  her  little  bonnet 
was  made  of  real  lace  of  Valenciennes.  She  clung 
with  desperate  solicitude  to  a  poupee,  or  baby  doll, 
that  had  evidently  been  dressed  for  her  by  loving 
hands  not  a  great  while  before. 

The  man  walked  weakly,  leaning  heavily  on  a 
stout  stick  that  might  have  been  a  bit  of  trench 
wattling.     Before  they  had  quite  caught  up  with 

144 


HE  STRAIGHTENED  UP  WITH  A  SNAP 


BAPTISTE 

the  pair  the  two  friends  in  their  hired  car  deemed 
the  man's  debility  to  be  that  of  old  age.  But  when 
the  car  abruptly  halted  beside  the  waifs  and  Van 
Home  sprang  from  it  to  the  road,  he  at  once  per- 
ceived that  the  man  was  still  comparatively  young. 
His  unkempt  hair  and  beard  were  jet  black  and 
luxuriant.  He  was  nothing  but  skin  and  bone,  as 
if  his  body  had  long  been  starved. 

At  the  sudden  stoppage  of  the  taxi  beside  them 
the  two  forlorn  wayfarers  also  arrested  their  steps. 
They  had  been  paying  no  heed  to  its  approach,  for 
there  was  a  constant  stream  of  wheeled  vehicles 
passing  up  one  side  of  the  Rue  d'Allemagne  and 
down  the  other,  and  when  that  almost  seven  feet  of 
young  American  brawn  and  bone  suddenly  alighted 
on  the  slippery  cobblestones  before  them,  the  man 
merely  raised  his  eyes — listlessly  at  first. 

Slowly  his  gaze  traversed  the  figure  of  the  big 
American  youth  till  his  eyes  rested  on  the  latter's 
smiling  countenance.  For  one  brief  instant  he 
stared  full  into  Van  Home's  eyes. 

Then,  letting  his  staff  fall  to  the  ground  and  at 
the  same  time  releasing  the  hand  of  his  little  com- 
panion, he  straightened  up  with  a  snap.  He 
tottered  forward  three  steps  till  both  of  his  trem- 
bling outstretched  hands  rested  upon  Van  Home's 
broad  breast,  and  still  gazing  into  the  latter's  eyes, 
with  evident  unbelief  in  his  own  powers  of  vision 

145 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE   U.  S.  ARMT 

plainly  depicted  in  his  own  eyes,  he  cried  hoarsely, 
half-doubtingly: 

"  Dieu  soit  beni!     C'est  impossible!  " 

A  pause,  and  then  he  cried  again,  and  this  time 
with  trembling  joy,  "Mais  oui,  c'est  vrai!  C'est 
mon  sergeant,  mon  brave  Yankee!" 

Van's  first  thought  when  that  human  scarecrow 
made  toward  him  was  that  the  man  was  but  an- 
other of  those  unfortunates — of  whom  there  were 
then  so  many  in  France,  alas — who  had  been  driven 
insane  by  suffering  and  privation  and  the  loss  of 
all  they  held  dear  in  this  world. 

But  at  the  first  sound  of  the  poor  fellow's  voice 
the  young  lieutenant  recognized  him,  and  grasping 
him  firmly  by  both  arms  to  steady  him,  for  he 
seemed  about  to  fall  down,  he  trembled  so.  Van 
Home  in  his  turn  cried  aloud  in  sheer  unbelieving 
amazement: 

"  Baptiste,  Baptiste  Trudeau,  as  sure  as  I'm 
alive!" 

Then  he  called,  "  Ralph,  Ralph,  look  who's  here! 
It's  Baptiste — Baptiste  Trudeau,  our  old  cor- 
poral!" 

But  Storm  was  already  out  of  the  taxi,  crying 
as  he  came  over  to  them : 

"  Great  Caesar's  ghost !     Old  Baptiste,  alive  and 

kicking,  or  I'm  a  living  sinner!  " 

And  he  grasped  one  of  the  stranger's  hands  and 

146 


BAPTISTE 

began  to  shake  it  almost  too  vigorously  for  one  in 
the  latter's  weakened  condition. 

It  was  in  truth  their  old  corporal  and  comrade- 
in-arms,  Baptiste  Trudeau,  the  French  Canadian, 
the  same  who  had  enlisted  along  with  Rodman  Van 
Home  on  that  far-off  memorable  night  in  Toronto, 
when  the  latter  had  first  and  suddenly  made  up  his 
mind  to  don  the  khaki,  and  who  had  been  made  a 
prisoner  by  the  Germans  in  that  same  fierce  engage- 
ment in  which  Van  Home  and  Storm  had  both 
been  wounded. 

By  this  time  the  tears  of  joy  were  streaming 
down  poor  Baptiste's  cheeks,  and  to  keep  from  cry- 
ing out  loud  he  had  begun  to  laugh  hysterically. 
Then  their  attention  was  attracted  to  the  corporal's 
little  companion,  who,  finding  herself  temporarily 
forgotten  and  neglected,  began  to  whimper  plain- 
tively. 

At  once  Baptiste  turned  toward  her,  saying  in  a 
tone  of  great  self-reproach,  "Ah,  ma  pauvre  petite, 

je " 

But  even  as  he  turned  about,  from  sheer  weak- 
ness he  fell  forward  on  the  rounded  cobblestones. 

Van  waited  for  no  more.  Baptiste  had  been  a 
German  prisoner,  and  his  pitiful  condition  told  its 
own  tale.  In  his  mighty  arms  Van  gathered  him 
up  off  the  road  as  if  he  weighed  no  more  than  a 
baby,  and  saying  to  Storm,  "  Bring  the  little  one, 

147 


FIGHTING  fFITH  THE  C7.  S.  ARMT 

Ralph!"  he  hustled  the  former  corporal  of  Ca- 
nadians into  the  taxi. 

On  the  seat  beside  Baptiste  Storm  placed  the 
still  whimpering  child,  who  never  ceased  to  cling 
tightly  to  her  dolly,  and  then  he  himself  momited 
to  the  seat  alongside  of  the  driver. 

Baptiste  was  not  very  long  in  comforting  the 
little  one,  and  then  he  had  leisure  to  reply  to  the 
volley  of  questions  that  were  shot  at  him  as  the 
car  sped  once  more  on  its  way  toward  Paris. 

The  French  Canadian's  account  of  his  captivity 
in  the  infamous  German  prison  camp  at  Witten- 
berg was  so  full  of  harrowing  details  that  it  made 
his  hearers'  very  blood  run  cold. 

Even  the  peace-loving  Van  Home  found  him- 
self clenching  his  huge  fists  till  they  hurt,  when 
Baptiste  drew  their  attention  to  the  half-healed 
scars  upon  his  throat  and  right  breast,  while  he  told 
of  the  manner  in  which  those  scars  had  been  made 
by  the  teeth  of  savage,  half-bred  wolf-hounds  that 
had  been  set  upon  himself  and  some  others  of  his 
fellow  prisoners  for  no  other  reason  than  that  they 
had  failed  to  obey  immediately  a  signal  to  go  in- 
doors that  they  did  not  understand.  Three  rifle 
shots  were  fired,  but  they  had  not  been  previously 
instructed  what  these  shots  were  to  mean. 

The  taxi  was  once  more  speeding  through  the 
streets  of  Paris  before  Baptiste  reached  the  part  of 

148 


B^PTISTE 

his  narrative  that  concerned  the  little  girl  by  his 
side.  It  was  a  very  simple  incident;  just  one  of 
the  pitifully  dramatic  things  of  which  hundreds 
were  happening  every  day  and  hour  along  the  sad 
roads  of  that  desolated  section  of  France  then  being 
evacuated  by  the  enemy  after  years  of  a  merciless 
occupation — merely  another  tale  of  a  poor  little 
waif,  lost  and  homeless,  being  picked  up  by  a  pass- 
ing refugee,  himself  in  straits  almost  as  dire  as 
her  own. 

It  had  been  two  days  before,  Baptiste  told  the 
two  young  officers.  He  was  picking  his  way  along 
with  his  staff,  weary  and  weak,  with  bowed  head  and 
averted  eyes,  over  the  rut-furrowed  and  shell-pitted 
trail  of  what  had  once  been  a  smooth  straight  road 
symmetrically  bordered  with  graceful  Lombardy 
poplars,  of  which  there  still  stood  but  a  shell- 
shattered  skeleton  every  here  and  there,  when  his 
attention  was  aroused  and  arrested  by  the  touching 
plaintive  wail  of  a  little  child,  who  in  her  own 
pretty  French,  in  which  were  mingled  many  terms 
of  childish  endearment,  and  in  tear-choked  accents 
was  beseeching  some  one  to,  "  Please,  please  wake 
up,  my  dearie! " 

The  child  was  fruitlessly  endeavoring  to  arouse 
an  old  woman — who  would  never  wake  again.  She 
had  evidently  been  the  child's  companion,  and  had 
sat  down  to  rest  by  the  wayside  in  the  small  shelter 

149 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

of  an  overturned  and  shattered  Army  Transport 
wagon  that  had  been  wrecked  by  a  high  explosive 
shell.  Her  gray  head  had  fallen  forward  on  one  of 
her  poor  old  arms  that  rested  against  the  hub  of  a 
broken  wheel. 

On  investigation,  Baptiste  found  that  the  old 
woman  was  indeed  resting — sleeping  her  last  long 
sleep.  She  had  died  of  want  and  exposure,  Bap- 
tiste thought,  although  beside  her  was  a  small 
basket  containing  a  bottle  with  some  milk  in  it,  and 
some  broken  pieces  of  black  bread.  She  had  been 
feeding  the  little  one  and  starving  herself,  he 
thought. 

In  the  basket  along  with  the  bread  and  the  bottle 
of  milk  there  was  also  a  sealed  letter  addressed  to 
some  one — evidently  a  lady — in  Paris.  The  simple 
and  good-hearted  French  Canadian  was  taking 
the  little  one  to  the  address  on  the  envelope;  that 
was  all. 

As  he  was  concluding,  Baptiste  took  the  letter 
from  the  pocket  of  his  coat,  and  handed  it  to  Lieu- 
tenant Van  Home.  After  reading  the  address  on 
the  envelope  the  latter  passed  it  on  to  Storm,  who 
had  all  the  time  been  leaning  over  the  back  of  his 
seat  in  front  with  the  chauffeur,  and  listening  at- 
tentively to  Baptiste's  story. 

Ralph  at  once  suggested  that  both  Baptiste  and 
the  little  girl  be  taken  to  his  father's  hotel  before 

150 


BAPTISTE 

any  other  definite  steps  were  made  to  find  the  per- 
son to  whom  the  letter  was  addressed.  Baptiste  had 
been  much  troubled  about  how  best  to  proceed  in 
the  matter,  and  was  more  than  pleased  to  agree  to 
the  young  lieutenant's  proposal. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Storm,  with  his  usual  prompt 
and  businesslike  method  of  doing  things,  had  soon 
disposed  of  both  Baptiste  and  his  little  traveling 
companion.  The  former  was  forthwith  bundled  off 
to  bed  in  the  hotel,  and  placed  under  the  care  of 
an  army  doctor,  there  to  remain  till  further  orders. 

By  means  of  the  telephone  the  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  was  soon  in  touch  with  the  Comptesse  de 
Lotbiniere  to  whom  the  sealed  epistle  was  ad- 
dressed. That  titled  lady  lost  no  time  in  claiming 
both  the  letter  and  the  tiny  waif,  who  proved  to  be 
her  niece,  the  only  child  of  her  sister.  The  letter 
contained  just  one  more  of  those  sad  and  sordid 
tales  of  a  once  happy  French  country  home  ravaged 
and  laid  waste  by  the  ruthless  enemy. 

But  so  far  as  this  present  story  is  concerned  the 
incident  ended  when  the  countess  departed  from 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Storm's  suite  with  the  little 
one  whose  guardian  angel  had  directed  the  tottering 
steps  of  the  all  but  worn-out  French  Canadian  to- 
ward La  Rue  d'Allemagne  that  day. 


151 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  GAS  INSTRUCTOR 

''Since  at  'somewhere*  in  France  they  were  landed, 
In  many  a  billet  they*ve  been, 
Exceedingly  strange,  to  be  candid, 
Are  some  of  the  things  they  have  seen." 

On  the  following  day,  their  new  uniforms  having 
arrived  safely  from  London,  the  two  young  lieu- 
tenants duly  reported  for  duty  at  the  Headquarters 
of  the  American  Expeditionary  Force  in  Paris. 
There  they  found  a  surprise,  at  first  not  altogether 
to  their  liking,  awaiting  them. 

From  the  information  Lieutenant-Colonel  Storm 
had  been  enabled  to  give  them  upon  their  arrival  in 
the  French  capital  they  had  been  led  to  believe  that 
they  were  to  be  appointed  to  the  same  regiment, 
and  that  although  they  were  both  to  be  temporarily 
detailed  to  one  of  the  wonderful  American  training 
camps  as  instructors,  they  would  eventually  find 
themselves  together  again  on  the  firing-line,  or  in 
the  front-line  trenches. 

But  it  is  always  the  unexpected  that  happens, 
and  this  is  especially  true  of  army  life.     The  for- 

152 


THE  GAS  INSTRUCTOR 

tunes  of  war  must  vary  with  every  fleeting  minute; 
and  "  brass-Jiats  " '  must  change  their  plans  and 
shift  their  men  about  to  suit  the  urgent  demands  of 
the  unforeseen. 

The  information  that  Ralph  Storm's  father  had 
received,  and  in  turn  had  imparted  to  the  boys,  in 
regard  to  the  disposition  that  was  about  to  be  made 
of  them  had  no  doubt  been  correct ;  but  by  the  time 
they  reported  for  duty,  short  though  the  interval 
had  been,  other  plans  had  been  cut  and  dried  for 
them. 

In  brief.  Lieutenant  Storm  was  ordered  to  report 
at  once  to  his  regiment,  then  in  reserve  billets  of  the 
Toul  sector  of  the  Lorraine  front.  Lieutenant 
Van  Home,  on  the  other  hand,  owing  to  the  recent 
special  training  that  he  had  received,  was,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  original  intention  of  Headquarters 
concerning  him,  detailed  as  "  Gas  Instructor  "  at 
the  great  camp  that  was  not  far  from  the  city  of 
Harfleur.  He  too  was  ordered  to  take  over  his 
new  duties  with  the  least  possible  delay. 

The  two  returned  to  the  hotel  to  say  good-bye  to 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Storm,  and  to  pack  up  their 
kits. 

Their  respective  destinations  lay  in  quite  opposite 
directions  from  Paris,  and  both  intended  leaving 

*  Brass-hat:  The  private  soldier's  name  for  a  high  officer, 
whose  cap  shows  much  gold  braid. 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

by  the  first  available  trains.  Van  Home  found  that 
a  train  for  Harfleur  was  leaving  within  the  hour, 
and  Storm,  whose  own  train  did  not  leave  till  later 
in  the  day,  pitched  in  and  helped  him  to  pack. 
Each  of  them,  although  they  mutually  regretted 
having  to  separate  again  so  soon,  was  well  pleased 
with  his  new  appointment. 

Ralph  on  his  part  was  eager  to  get  back  to  the 
excitement  of  the  front  line,  where  to  him  every- 
thing partook  more  or  less  of  the  nature  of  a  glori- 
fied football  game  with  its  storm  and  stress,  and 
the  thrill  that  was  never  altogether  absent  there  at 
any  time. 

Van  Home,  on  the  other  hand,  never  looked  for- 
ward to  the  actual  fighting  without  experiencing 
that  cold,  nervous,  shivering  sensation  that  had  once 
even  made  him  afraid  of  himself — afraid  lest  he 
should,  when  the  pinch  came,  actually  feel  afraid 
and  yield  to  that  fear  in  spite  of  himself. 

To  be  sure,  he  had  long  since  proved  himself  to 
himself,  and  was  no  longer  possessed  of  that  former 
nameless  dread;  yet  he  could  always  understand 
and  sympathize  with  that  Scottish  Highlander  who, 
when  on  the  point  of  leaving  for  France  once  again 
after  a  brief  week-end  furlough  in  "  Blighty,"  on 
being  asked  if  he  were  going  back  to  the  trenches 
once  more,  and  if  he  were  glad  to  go,  made  reply  in 
his  broad  burring  accent: 

154 


THE  GAS  INSTRUCTOR 

"Aye,  ahm  a-goin'  back.  Ahm  a-goin'  back 
a-richt;  but  ahm  nae  just  a-bur-r-rstin'  tae  go! " 

And  it  was  the  answer  of  a  real  hero — a  man  who 
could  not  be  frightened  from  his  duty.  And  so  it 
was  always  with  the  big  lad,  Lieutenant  Rodman 
Van  Home. 

Before  the  latter  bade  good-bye  to  his  friends  in 
Paris,  however,  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  loiowing 
that  his  old  friend  Baptiste  was  going  to  be  cared 
for.  When  they  were  all  driving  back  to  Paris  in 
the  taxi,  Van  Home  and  Storm  had  informed  the 
French  Canadian  that  after  that  memorable  raid 
in  which  they  had  all  taken  part  he  had  been  re- 
ported among  the  casualties,  first  as  missing,  and 
then  later  as  dead;  and  that  he  had  been  in  conse- 
quence officially  "  struck  off  the  strength  "  of  his 
old  battalion  in  the  Canadian  Expeditionary  Force. 

This  information  had  set  him  thinking,  and  that 
morning  Baptiste,  feeling  really  like  a  giant  re- 
freshed, after  a  good  night's  sleep  in  a  real  bed, 
some  clean  and  new  clothes,  and  his  first  good  well- 
cooked  breakfast  in  many  a  long  day,  had  quietly 
made  his  way  also  to  the  Headquarters  of  the  Amer- 
ican Expeditionary  Force,  and  had  enlisted  as  a 
private  soldier  under  the  Stars  and  Stripes. 

After  hearing  his  story,  and  learning  of  his 
former  connection  with  the  two  well-known  young 
American  officers  who  had  so  recently  been  serving 

155 


FIGHTING  ff^lTH  THE  U.  S.  ^RMT 

with  the  Canadians,  they  placed  Baptiste  upon  the 
strength  of  the  same  regiment  to  which  Storm  and 
Van  Home  had  themselves  been  appointed,  and 
that  afternoon  he  was  to  accompany  Lieutenant 
Storm  when  the  latter  set  out  to  join  the  regiment 
do^vn  on  the  Lorraine  front. 

That  afternoon  on  reporting  at  the  gi*eat  Amer- 
ican training  camp  near  Harfieur  Van  Home 
found  that  he  indeed  had  his  work  cut  out  for  him. 
It  was  with  some  slight  misgivings  that  he  at  first 
took  hold. 

Van  was  always  a  little  dubious  about  himself 
till  he  got  warmed  up  to  his  work  and  forgot  him- 
self altogether.  Yet  without  at  all  at  such  times 
intending  to  do  so,  or  even  being  aware  that  he  was 
about  to  do  anything  of  the  sort,  Big  Van,  as  the 
boys  at  Dale  Academy  used  to  say,  more  often  than 
not  "  started  something,"  and  when  he  did  he 
"  pushed  it  along." 

His  interview  with  the  Camp  Commandant 
shortty  after  he  reported  there  for  duty  was  brief 
and  to  the  point.  The  Commandant  informed  him 
that  a  number  of  American  officers  and  N.  C.  O.'s 
were  even  then  taking  courses  in  gas  offense  and 
protection  methods  at  several  of  the  schools  of  in- 
struction in  England,  and  that  pending  their  arrival 
back  in  France  Van  Home's  services  would  be  most 

welcome  and  appreciated. 

156 


.        THE  GAS  INSTRUCTOR 

He  wished  to  have  particular  stress,  the  Com- 
mandant said,  laid  upon  the  latest  protective  devices 
and  the  methods  of  using  them.  Van  Home's  in- 
struction would  give  those  of  his  officers  who  could 
not  for  obvious  reasons  be  absent  from  their  com- 
mands an  immediate  chance  to  learn  those  things, 
and  to  put  them  into  practice  with  their  various 
units. 

"  But,  all  details  I  leave  to  you,  sir,"  he  went 
on.  "All  I  ask  is  that  you  do  your  best  to  impart 
just  what  you  yourself  have  been  taught.  The 
junior  officers  and  the  N.  C.  O.'s  will  be  divided  up 
into  squads.  One  or  more  of  these  squads  will  be 
sent  to  you  each  working  hour  of  the  day  after  the 
nine  a.  m.  parade  daily. 

"  You  can  arrange  your  schedule  accordingly. 
When  any  member  of  a  squad  has  completed  his 
course  of  instruction  to  your  satisfaction  you  will 
have  him  report  to  my  adjutant,  and  we  shall  set 
them  at  once  to  teaching  new  men." 

"  Very  good,  sir,"  said  the  young  instructor. 

"  Do  not  be  surprised,"  continued  the  Com- 
mandant, smiling,  "  if  some  of  us  senior  officers 
drop  in  on  your  classes  occasionally.  We  all  need 
this,  and  I  shall  advise  all  to  take  advantage  of  the 
time  you  are  with  us  here.     When  can  you  begin?  " 

"  When  you  please,  sir.  That  is  to  say,  with  the 
theoretical  part  of  the  work,"  replied  Van  Home 

157 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

modestly.  "  But  some  appliances  and  apparatus 
will  be  necessary  as  we  go  on." 

"  Very  good,"  concluded  the  Commandant. 
"  Then  you  can  begin  to-morrow.  Order  what  you 
need  in  the  meantime  from  the  Q.  M.  stores.  I 
shall  leave  instructions  that  you  are  to  be  supplied 
at  once  with  all  that  you  may  require." 

"  Very  good,  sir.  Thank  you,  sir,"  said  Van 
Home,  saluting  and  turning  away,  followed  by 
the  appraising  and  admiring  eyes  of  the  Com- 
mandant— an  old  West  Pointer,  who  knew  a  soldier 
when  he  saw  one. 

The  duty  then  thrust  upon  Lieutenant  Rodman 
Van  Home,  V.  C,  late  of  the  Canadians  and  now 
of  the  American  Expeditionary  Force,  was  in  good 
truth  an  onerous  one. 

The  development,  or  rather  evolution,  that  had 
taken  place  in  the  use  of  poisonous  gas  as  a  weapon 
of  offense  and  defense,  since  that  remote  day  at  the 
second  battle  of  Ypres,  when  wholly  unprotected 
against  it  the  Canadians  of  the  British  forces,  and 
the  Turcos  of  the  French  Army  had  had  their  lungs 
burned  out,  had  been  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
features  of  the  countless  marvels  that  the  great 
World  War  had  wrought. 

As  from  time  to  time  new  methods  of  using  and 
projecting  the  gas  were  invented,  fresh  ways  of 
fighting  it  had  to  be  found,  and  they  were.     And 

158 


THE  GAS  INSTRUCTOR 

as  the  nature  of  the  gas  used  changed — for  several 
kinds  quite  different  in  their  effects  upon  the  human 
body  had  come  to  be  used — again  the  defense 
against  it  had  to  be  altered  or  improved. 

At  that  precise  period  of  the  war  when  Van  re- 
ceived his  appointment  as  a  "  Gas  Instructor  "  to 
the  A.  E.  F.  the  Allied  armies  had  even  found  it 
necessary  to  appoint  one  special  officer  to  at  least 
every  battalion.  This  officer's  sole  duty  was  to  see 
that  his  own  particular  unit  was  alwaj^s  in  a  state  of 
thorough  preparedness  against  the  insidious  and 
dread  weapon.  He  was  generally  a  lieutenant  who 
had  been  fitted  for  his  responsible  post  by  a  special 
course  of  instruction. 

When  Van  left  the  Headquarters  of  the  Camp 
Commandant  he  went  direct  to  his  own  tent,  and 
sat  down  to  make  out  a  regular  schedule  for  his 
classes. 

Roughly  he  divided  his  course  up  into  three  parts. 
In  the  first  part  he  proposed  to  lecture  on  the  vari- 
ous kinds  of  gas  and  their  effects ;  one  hour  of  this 
to  each  fresh  squad,  he  thought,  ought  to  be  suf- 
ficient. Then  he  would  proceed  to  the  ways  of  de- 
tecting the  gas  and  the  methods  of  warning  troops 
of  its  threatened  approach.  The  third  part,  and  by 
far  the  greater  and  most  important  part  of  the 
course,  he  resolved  to  devote  to  the  methods  of  pro- 
tection adopted,   with   plenty   of   practical  work 

159 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

thrown  in  as  soon  as  he  could  secure  the  necessary 
appliances  therefor. 

He  made  out  a  list  of  the  things  he  should  be 
likely  to  require,  and  proceeded  with  it  to  the  Q.  M. 
stores.  The  Q.  M.  had  on  hand  plenty  of  masks  of 
the  latest  design  accepted  by  the  U.  S.  Army,  and 
Van  Home  requisitioned  thirty  of  these. 

The  Q.  M.  S.'  j)romised  to  have  a  special  marquee 
pitched  for  him  in  some  convenient  location  before 
nine  o'clock  next  morning,  and  fully  supplied  with 
long  camp  mess-tables  with  their  accompanying 
benches,  enough  to  accommodate  about  from  thirty 
to  forty  men  at  a  time.  He  also  promised,  although 
it  was  something  that  would  have  to  be  specially 
made  by  the  pioneers  in  the  meantime,  to  have  an 
easel  blackboard,  all  ready  for  the  young  in- 
structor's use  by  that  time. 

But  when  Van  Home  asked  for  a  dozen  trench 
fans,  the  Q.  M.  S.  opened  his  eyes  wider  and  as- 
sumed a  look  of  puzzled  surprise.  In  an  injured 
tone,  as  if  he  resented  this  young  officer's  springing 
something  entirely  new  on  him,  an  old  soldier,  he 
protested: 

"  Trench  fans,  sir?  Why,  I  never  heard  of  such 
things,  sir!    What  might  they  be  like?  " 

"  I'll  show  you,"  replied  the  lieutenant,  with  a 
disarming  smile. 

*  Quartermaster  Sergeant. 
i6o 


THE  GAS  INSTRUCTOR 

"  They  certainly  are  something  quite  new  to  all 
of  us.  But  you  can  easily  make  them  for  me,  I 
know.  Just  let  me  have  a  bit  of  paper  and  a  pencil, 
and  I'll  show  you." 

Our  young  instructor  then  made  a  rough  sketch 
of  a  trench  fan,  explaining  the  simple  details  of  its 
construction  to  the  Q.  M.  S.  as  he  proceeded. 

The  latter  promised  to  have  them  ready  for  him 
in  the  morning  also;  but  the  next  article  on  Van 
Home's  list  he  was  not  so  ready  to  undertake. 
When  the  big  lieutenant  was  making  out  his  list  he 
had  included  among  the  items  "  one  gas  chamber 
for  demonstration  purposes,"  and  had  attached  a 
rough  pencil  plan  of  the  same,  with  specifications  as 
to  size  and  material.  The  chamber  had  to  be  con- 
structed partly  underground,  and  was  to  have  an 
outlet  at  each  end,  so  that  one  might  enter  at  one 
end  and  pass  out  through  the  other  without  having 
to  turn  back,  once  within  it. 

The  Q.  M.  S.  had  no  doubt  about  the  ability  of 
his  pioneers  to  construct  it;  but  suggested  that  it 
would  be  as  well  if  the  lieutenant  himself  super- 
vised its  construction.  This  was  agreed  upon,  and 
Van  Home  forthwith  set  apart  a  portion  of  the 
next  morning  early  for  that  purpose.  The  Q.  M.  S. 
promised  to  indent  on  the  Ordnance  Department 
for  the  necessary  chemicals  and  apparatus  for  pro- 
ducing the  chlorine  gas. 

i6i 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  CLASS 

*'TMs  is  their  JiigJiest  guerdon. 
Never  to  shrink  from  the  task; 
But,  if  life  or  death  he  the  burden. 
To  share  it  is  all  they  ask/' 

Rod  Van  Horne  was  nothing  if  not  thorough 
in  all  that  he  undertook.  In  his  classes  at  Dale 
Academy  dogged  perseverance  and  persistence  had 
more  than  once  placed  him  ahead  of  those  who  were 
much  quicker  to  learn  than  he. 

The  night  before  he  began  his  work  of  instruc- 
tion at  the  American  Training  Camp  he  sat  up, 
poring  over  the  notes  he  had  taken  on  "  gas  "  pro- 
tection at  one  of  the  training  schools  in  England, 
till  the  nightly  bugles  softly  blew  that  weird  and 
lonesome  call,  "  lights-out,"  "  lights-oout,"  that 
always  makes  the  rookie's  heart  sit  heavy  in  his 
bosom  when  he  hears  it  for  the  first  time  as  a  soldier. 

As  a  sort  of  a  lecture  he  planned  to  afford  all 
that  information  regarding  the  different  kinds  of 
gas  that  has  already  been  briefly  dwelt  upon  in  the 
preceding  chapter.  At  first  he  thought  of  writing 
out  something,  memorizing  what  he  had  written, 

162 


THE  CLASS 

and  then  delivering  it  in  set  form  to  each  succeed- 
ing class  or  squad  in  turn  as  they  appeared  before 
him  for  instruction  throughout  the  day. 

But  he  had  never  been  able  to  make  much  of  a 
fist  of  it  as  a  speaker  in  the  debating  society  at  Dale ; 
generally  getting  stuck  before  he  got  started,  no 
matter  how  well  he  had  previously  memorized  his 
speech.  So  on  this  occasion  he  wisely  concluded  to 
content  himself  with  reading  over  his  notes  care- 
fully and  slowly,  and  to  let  the  morrow  take  care 
of  itself. 

Betimes  next  morning  he  saw  to  it  that  a  working 
party  under  the  command  of  a  pioneer  sergeant  was 
set  to  work  on  the  construction  of  the  "  gas-cham- 
ber," and  he  himself  supervised  their  labors  till  nine 
o'clock,  the  hour  set  for  his  first  class. 

The  day  was  fine,  and  the  front  of  the  marquee 
that  had  been  pitched  over  night  and  furnished 
ready  for  him  had  been  thrown  wide  open  for  air 
and  s,unshine,  as  is  the  custom  with  all  tents  in  all 
camps  when  the  weather  permits. 

As  Van  drew  near  it  he  could  hear  much  merry 
laughter  and  talk  from  within.  His  first  class  of 
junior  officers — first  and  second  lieutenants — was 
already  assembled  there.  As  their  new  instructor 
paused  at  the  tent  entrance,  and  took  in  what  was 
going  on  inside,  he  could  not  help  smiling  broadly 
in  sympathy  with  them. 

163 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

The  whole  class  was  gathered  about  a  table  on 
which  the  Q.  M.  S.  had  left  a  pile  of  gas-masks. 
The  junior  officers  were  examining  them  and  trying 
them  on,  just  as  any  other  group  of  mere  schoolboj^s 
would  have  done,  during  the  teacher's  absence,  and 
were  having  much  fun  over  their  awkward  en- 
deavors to  adjust  the  uncomfortable  contrivances, 
and  at  the  grotesquely  ugly  appearance  that  each 
presented  when  he  had  finally  succeeded  in  cover- 
ing his  face  with  it. 

Van  Home's  immense  stature  and  broad  shoul- 
ders darkened  the  entrance  to  the  tent,  wide  open 
though  it  was ;  and  one  of  the  merry  group  of  young 
officers  looked  up.  Now  the  fame  of  their  gigantic 
young  instructor  had  already  gone  abroad  in  the 
camp,  and  more  than  the  junior  officers  then  as- 
sembled in  the  marquee  were  curious  to  have  a  look 
at  the  young  giant  from  the  good  old  U.  S.  A.  who 
had  achieved  the  Victoria  Cross,  that  decoration  so 
highly  prized  by  the  British  soldier,  from  the  low- 
est to  the  highest  ranks. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  junior  officer  who  first 
caught  sight  of  him,  standing  with  his  back  to  the 
light  in  the  front  of  the  marquee,  had  never  before 
set  his  eyes  on  a  human  figure  of  such  generous  and 
at  the  same  time  symmetrical  proportions. 

At  once  he  recognized  Lieutenant  Van  Home  for 
what  he  really  was,  and  in  a  "  boiler-maker's  whis- 

164 


THE  CLASS 

per  "  that  could  be  heard  by  every  one — Van  Home 
himself  included — he  cried: 

"  Cheese  it,  fellows!     Here's  the  instructor!" 

At  the  same  time  the  speaker  dropped  the  mask 
he  had  just  removed  from  his  face,  and  "  ducked  " 
for  a  seat  on  the  nearest  bench. 

Then  again  the  twenty-nine  others  behaved  them- 
selves just  like  a  bunch  of  grown-up  schoolboys. 
Some  made  a  mad  dash  for  the  benches,  and  hastily 
seated  themselves  at  the  tables,  and  tried  to  look 
virtuous.  Some  of  them  stood  their  ground  and 
looked  stupid.  One,  who  had  succeeded  in  push- 
ing his  face  into  a  mask  that  was  too  small  for  him, 
tugged  frantically,  and  unavailingly  in  his  hurry, 
to  remove  it.  All  tried  to  look  suddenly  serious 
and  dignified,  as  became  commissioned  officers,  and 
succeeded  but  indifferently  well  in  doing  so. 

Two  or  three  ventured  a  hearty  "  Good-morning, 
sir!" 

Van  Home's  responsive  and  hearty  "  Good- 
morning,  fellows ! "  accompanied  as  it  was  by  that 
rare  smile  of  his  that  ever  won  all  hearts  when  it  did 
make  its  appearance,  set  them  at  their  ease  again 
almost  immediately.  They  perceived  at  once  that 
this  new  instructor  of  theirs  was  a  "  regular  fel- 
low." 

Answering  smiles  broke  out  over  all  their  faces, 
and  they  replied  in  chorus,  all  of  them: 

165 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

"  Good-morning,  sir! " 

Thus  was  the  ice  broken,  and  Van  at  once  felt 
that,  for  his  part,  he  would  have  no  trouble  in 
getting  along  if  they  were  all  anything  like  the  sam- 
ple then  before  him;  his  heart  went  out  to  them 
right  away.  And  in  fact  it  would  have  been  the 
fault  of  any  instructor  himself  who  failed  to  get 
along  with  those  magnificent  young  fellows  as  a 
whole;  they  were  of  the  pick  of  the  brawn  and  brain 
of  young  America. 

Then  each  one  quietly  found  a  seat  for  himself 
on  the  long  benches  that  ran  along  one  side  of  each 
of  the  tables,  and  thus  left  them  when  seated  facing 
the  instructor's  table,  with  the  newly  painted  black- 
board behind  it  not  yet  dry,  and  so  not  yet  ready 
for  use. 

Van  found  this  out  by  getting  a  black  smudge 
upon  his  finger  when  he  tested  it.  When  he  turned 
to  do  this  they  sized  up  his  great  back  admiringly, 
and  then  glanced  significantly  and  furtively  at  each 
other,  which  glances  said  as  plainly  as  so  many 
words : 

"  Some  officer,  eh,  what! " 

But  as  it  turned  out  Van  Home  had  not  much 
use  for  the  blackboard  that  day.  At  first  he  was 
at  a  loss  how  to  begin;  not  that  he  was  at  all  em- 
barrassed or  confused  when  he  looked  into  the  thirty 
pairs  of  eager  expectant  young  eyes  that  looked 

i66 


THE  CLASS 

steadily  bacK  into  his  own.     They  were  of  his  own 
kind. 

And,  as  usual  with  Big  Van,  he  did  the  right 
thing  at  the  right  time;  he  was  just  his  natural  self. 

"  This  is  a  new  game  to  me,  fellows,"  he  started 
off.     "  I  mean  this  instructing  business. 

"And  I  never  was  much  good  at  talking  single- 
handed,  anyway,  so  I  guess  you'll  have  to  help  me 
out — by  asldng  questions,  or  something.  Not  that 
I'll  be  able  to  answer  everything  you  ask;  but  I'll 
answer  all  I  can.  But  don't  all  speak  at  once,"  he 
added  with  a  smile. 

Then  the  young  instructor  paused  as  if  waiting 
for  some  one  of  them  to  start  the  ball  rolling;  but 
none  of  them  ventured  a  question  immediately. 
The  fact  of  the  matter  was  that  all  of  them  had  so 
many  questions  to  ask  that  none  of  them  knew 
which  to  ask  first. 

The  sound  of  his  own  voice,  however,  seemed  to 
have  stimulated  Van  Home's  flow  of  thought,  and 
at  length  he  went  on  quite  naturally  and  conver- 
sationally, as  if  he  were  merely  taking  part  in  a 
friendly  "  chin  "  with  some  of  his  friends.  And 
that  indeed  was  just  how  he  really  felt. 

"  Last  night  when  I  was  studying  over  this  busi- 
ness I  thought  that  I  would  just  begin  this  morn- 
ing by  telling  you  something  about  the  gas,  what 
its  effects  are,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing. 

'     167 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

"  Maybe  some  of  you  already  know  all  this.  If 
so,  all  the  better.  Then  you'll  be  able  to  help  me 
along  if  I  get  stuck. 

"  I'll  tell  you  why  you  should  know  all  about  the 
gas,  how  it's  made,  and  what  it  is,  and  so  on.  It's 
just  so  that  you  fellows  can  tell  it  again  to  your 
platoons  when  you  in  your  turn  are  instructing 
them. 

"  Maybe  you  wonder  what  good  it  can  do  the 
men  to  know  what  the  gas  is  composed  of,  and  how 
it  is  made.  Well,  in  the  first  place,  it  has  been 
found  out  in  both  the  British  and  the  French  armies 
that  the  very  bad  effect  the  gas  had  on  the  morale 
of  the  rank  and  file  generally  was  mainly  due  to  the 
surprise  and  mystery  surrounding  it.  It  was  some- 
thing they  didn't  know  and  didn't  understand;  there 
was  that  dread  uncanniness  about  it  that  always 
accompanies  whatever  is  mysterious  and  intan- 
gible. 

"  Later  when  the  men  were  shown  how  it  was 
made,  and  that  there  was  nothing  mysterious  at  all 
about  it,  and  how  it  could  be  rendered  absolutely 
harmless  they  then  always  remained  absolutely 
cool,  instead  of  going  off  in  a  panic  as  they  did  at 
first. 

"And  when  your  men  keep  cool,  you  can  smash 
up  the  enemy  infantry  when  they  try  to  follow  up 
the  gas  cloud  or  barrage,  whichever  it  may  be,  be- 

i68 


THE  CLASS 

fore  they  get  any  nearer  than  your  own  barbed 
wire. 

"  But  right  there  is  where  you  have  to  go  slow 
again,  and  dwell  uiDon  the  terrible  effects  of  the 
gas  unless  the  men  are  unceasingly  vigilant  and  on 
guard  against  it.  You  can't  impress  that  too 
strongly  upon  your  platoons,  fellows.  The  French 
when  they  have  their  masks  in  position  say  that 
they  are  wearing  them  at  the  '  alerte/  and  that's  a 
mighty  good  word.  Try  to  drive  it  into  your  men 
so  that  it  will  stick,  that  they  must  always  be  on 
the  *  alerte  '  against  the  crawling,  deadly  stuff. 

"  That's  why  we  have  to  keep  telling  the  men 
over  and  over  again  about  the  danger  of  it ;  to  keep 
them  keyed  up,  lest  they  forget  for  but  one  minute 
just  at  the  wrong  time.  You  see,  if  green  troops 
don't  happen  to  get  a  severe  dose  of  it  the  first  time, 
unless  the  continued  danger  is  reimpressed  on 
them,  they  have  a  natural  tendency  to  underrate 
the  effects  of  the  gas,  and  to  be  careless  about  their 
masks  and  dugout  flaps;  and  then  the  next  time 
they  get  it  so  good  and  plenty  that  those  who  sur- 
vive can  never  forget." 

Every  young  officer  in  the  class  was  hanging 
upon  the  gigantic  instructor's  words,  as  he  warmed 
up  to  his  work,  and  every  now  and  then  slammed 
one  huge  brown  fist  with  a  resounding  thwack  into 
the  palm  of  his  other  hand. 

169 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

"And  you  can  take  it  from  me,  fellows,"  he  con- 
tinued, "  that  when  a  man  is  gassed  nowadays — that 
is,  provided  he  has  had  proper  instruction — m 
ninety-five  cases  out  of  a  hundred  it  is  his  own 
fault. 

"And  if  he  has  not  been  properly  instructed  and 
drilled,  why  then  it's  our  fault,  and  his  death  lies  at 
our  doors.     Think  of  that ! 

"  I'm  telling  you  all  this  beforehand  to  try  to 
impress  upon  you  the  importance  of  thoroughly  in- 
structing your  men,  and  not  only  instructing  them, 
but  drilling  them  as  well.  You  should  give  your 
men  a  regular  gas  attack  drill  every  day  till  it  be- 
comes just  as  easy  and  natural  a  thing  for  them  to 
keep  their  masks  in  good  shape  and  ready  at  hand 
always,  and  to  be  able  to  slip  them  on  easily  and 
quickly,  as  it  is  for  them  to  keep  their  rifles  cleaned 
and  oiled  and  to  carry  them  at  the  high  port  in  a 
charge  over  No  Man's  Land.  At  every  gas-drill 
you  should  personally  inspect  some  or  all  of  their 
gas-masks,  and  make  it  a  serious  crime  to  find  one 
out  of  order. 

"And  constant  drill  is  the  only  thing  that  will  do 
this,  just  as  it  is  the  only  way  to  secure  high  ef- 
ficiency in  anything,  in  the  army  or  out  of  it." 

Van  Home  had  by  this  time  quite  forgotten  him- 
self, and  in  his  own  homely  style  was  talking  away 
quite  fluently,  if  not  eloquently. 

170 


THE  CLASS 

With  his  first  words  he  had  captured  their  atten- 
tion, and  what  was  better  he  held  it  throughout  the 
hour.  This  was  very  encouraging  to  the  young 
lecturer,  as  the  introduction  was  the  dryest  and 
least  interesting  part  of  the  course  of  insti*uction 
he  had  mapped  out  for  his  classes. 

He  detailed  the  composition,  effects,  and  modes 
of  projecting  the  gas,  in  that  first  lesson,  making  it 
interesting  by  quoting  concrete  instances  and  ex- 
amples. 

The  hour  passed  very  quickly  for  both  Van  Home 
and  his  audience.  No  questions  were  asked.  So 
interested  did  they  all  seem  to  be  in  the  speaker's 
words  that  they  appeared  content  merely  to  listen. 
The  sole  interruptions  to  his  discourse  were  made 
by  the  young  lecturer  himself,  when  he  occasionally 
paused  and  advised  them  to  make  a  note  in  their 
books  of  some  particular  point. 

Toward  the  close  of  his  talk  to  this  first  batch 
of  his  pupils  he  told  them  that  he  would  talk  to 
them  about  the  different  means  of  guarding  against 
and  of  overcoming  the  gas  attacks,  and  promised 
them  that  after  that  their  work  would  be  more 
interesting,  as  it  would  then  consist  mostly  of  prac- 
tical work. 

Finally  He  said,  glancing  at  his  watch : 

"  We  have  just  three  minutes  more  before  the 
next  class  comes  on.     I  wish  to  thank  you  for  the 

171 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

patient  attention  you  have  given  me,  fellows.     Has 
any  one  any  question  to  ask?  " 

Whereat  a  bright  youth,  who  with  evident  diffi- 
culty had  been  repressing  his  exuberant  spirits  all 
through  the  class,  inquired  with  a  grin: 

"  What  about  the  rats  we  hear  so  much  about, 
sir?    Does  the  gas  effect  them  too? " 

A  burst  of  laughter  greeted  the  question,  but 
subsided  at  once  as  Van  replied  smilingly: 

"  Yes,  after  a  heavy  gas  attack  dead  rats,  big 
gray  fellows  almost  as  big  as  a  cat,  and  all  sizes  of 
rats  down  to  the  smallest  size,  lie  about  the  trenches 
and  dugouts  everywhere.  One  never  realizes  what 
swarms  of  them  there  must  have  been  alive  there 
till  he  sees  their  bodies  lying  all  about  after  the  gas. 
We  have  masks  for  our  horses,  our  mules,  and  our 
Red  Cross  dogs;  but  the  Q.  M.  doesn't  supply  any 
for  Mr.  Rat,  you  know." 

"And  how  about  the  '  cooties,'  sir? "  queried 
the  same  young  irrepressible  who  had  already 
spoken. 

"  Our  intimate  little  friend,  the  cootie,  seems  to 
be  the  only  living  thing,  so  far,  that  thrives  upon 
*  gas.'  He  seems,  if  possible,  to  be  more  lively  after 
a  good  dose  of  it  than  before.  But  perhaps  we  may 
yet  find  some  better  way  of  dealing  with  him,  too, 
than  by  simply  picking  him  off  a  shirt  and  crack- 
ing him  between  thumb-nails." 

172 


THE  CLASS 

The  class  one  and  all  filed  out  of  the  marquee 
laughing  heartily. 

Five  separate  batches  of  junior  officers  appeared 
before  Van  Home  that  day,  so  he  felt  that  he  had 
his  opening  talk  "  down  pretty  fine "  before  it 
ended.  He  had  succeeded  as  well  in  making  him- 
self solid  with  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  of 
his  fellow  lieutenants  of  the  A.  E.  F.,  and  not  a  few 
of  the  senior  officers,  some  of  whom  introduced 
themselves  to  the  young  instructor,  and  congratu- 
lated him  on  the  high  honor  he  had  won  while  with 
the  Canadians. 

The  following  day  the  apparatus  which  he  had 
requisitioned  from  the  Q.  M.  stores  was  ready  and 
he  began  to  take  up  the  more  interesting  and  prac- 
tical work  with  his  classes. 

Before  proceeding  to  the  actual  "  mask  drill," 
however,  he  dwelt  at  some  length  on  the  ways  and 
means  of  detecting  the  approach  and  presence  of 
the  gas,  and  some  of  the  devices  used  for  spreading 
the  alarm. 

"And  here  again  I  want  to  point  out  to 
you  fellows,"  he  said,  "  another  reason  why 
you  should  have  your  gas  drills  regularly  and 
often. 

"  False  alarms,  due  to  panic,  or  perhaps  to  nerv- 
ousness, have  a  very  bad  effect  on  the  morale  of 
your  men. 

173 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMr 

"  By  them  men  are  disturbed  who  should  be 
taking  their  rest. 

"And  if  they  happen  too  often  the  alarm  becomes 
like  that  old  cry  of  '  Wolf,  wolf! '  Too  often  re- 
peated, no  attention  is  paid  to  it.  Men  will  wake 
up,  and  turn  over,  and  go  to  sleep  again,  without 
ever  bothering  to  put  on  their  masks.  Many  thou- 
sands have  lost  their  lives  just  that  way. 

"  Besides,  regular  gas  drill  has  a  steadying  effect 
on  everybody.  Sentinels  who  have  had  it  are  not  so 
likely  to  start  a  false  alarm,  that  every  time,  remem- 
ber, will  extend  as  far  back,  and  beyond  the  reserve 
trenches,  as  those  who  have  not  had  such  constant 
practice. 

"  Drill  'em,  drill  'em,  I  repeat.  You  can't  give 
your  platoons  too  much  of  it.  They  will  not  like 
it,  I  know,  and  will  grouse  their  dear  old  heads  off; 
but  the  only  thing  you  can  do  in  that  case  is  to  try 
and  make  them  realize  that  it  is  all  for  their  own 
good. 

"  But,  just  to  get  down  to  brass  tacks  again, 
fellows,  I  want  to  tell  you  some  of  the  commonest 
ways  of  knowing  when  it  is  most  necessary  to  be 
on  your  guard  when  No  Man's  Land  is  not  very 
wide  across,  and  how  to  send  out  and  spread  the 
alarm. 

"  Not  that  accidents  will  not  happen,  mind  you; 
no  matter  how  careful  you  may  be.    When  the 

174 


THE  CLASS 

enemy  trench  is  close  to  you,  and  you  have  men 
out  in  listening  j)osts  or  saps,  it's  sometimes  simply 
impossible  to  get  a  warning  to  them  in  time." 

Van  paused  a  moment,  as  if  to  get  his  second 
wind,  and  one  of  his  pupil  officers  asked: 

"  What  do  you  do  in  that  case,  sir? " 

"  Nothing,"  replied  Van  Home  gravely.  "  I 
once  saw  a  sergeant  and  four  pioneers  come  out  of  a 
covered  sap,  and  walk  right  into  a  heavy  gas  cloud. 
The  sergeant  and  two  of  the  men  died;  they  of 
course  had  known  nothing  of  what  was  going  on 
aboveground.  But,  as  the  French  say,  '  C'est  la 
guerre.' " 

Van  paused,  and  glanced  thoughtfully  down 
at  the  heap  of  gas-masks  on  the  table  before  him, 
as  if  they  had  just  awakened  some  painful  recollec- 
tion.    Then  he  resumed  in  a  low  tone: 

"  Once  when  I  was  with  the  Canadians  my  pla- 
toon got  it  thick  in  the  support  trenches — second 
line,  you  know.  I  was  a  platoon  sergeant  then, 
and  we  had  no  *  gas  '  officers  in  those  days. 

"  The  platoon  lost  nine  men  out  of  forty-eight. 
It  was  at  night,  and  the  men  not  on  duty  were 
sleeping  in  the  dugouts.  Seven  of  the  nine  were 
in  the  dugouts,  and  afterward  we  found  their 
masks  still  under  their  greatcoats,  which  they  had 
been  using  folded  for  pillows.  They  could  not  get 
at  their  masks  in  time  to  get  them  on  in  the  dark- 

175 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

ness.  The  two  sentinels  killed  did  not  have  their 
gas-masks  on  their  persons  neither. 

"  After  that  I  always  insisted  on  the  men  of  my 
platoon  wearing  their  masks  always  attached  by 
the  straps — no  matter  what  they  were  doing  while 
in  the  trenches,  sleeping  or  waking. 

"  I  know  that  this  is  a  standing  order  now;  but 
you'll  have  to  watch  your  men  closely,  boys,  to  see 
that  it's  carried  out." 

"  May  I  ask  a  question,  sir?  "  broke  in  one  of  the 
junior  officers. 

"  Certainly,  that's  what  I'm  here  for,"  smiled 
Van. 

"  Is  the  gas  officer  responsible  for  the  condi- 
tion of  the  men's  masks,  or  are  we  responsible 
for  our  own  platoons,  sir?  Who  inspects  the 
masks?" 

"A  very  sensible  question,  and  I'm  glad  you 
asked  it,"  replied  Van  Home. 

"  There  is  a  chain  of  responsibility.  The  buck 
private  is  expected  to  care  for  his  mask  as  well  as 
he  does  for  his  rifle,  and  you  all  know  what  that 
means.  The  corporals  are  responsible  for  their 
squads  to  the  sergeants;  the  sergeants  are  re- 
sponsible to  you  lieutenants  who  command  pla- 
toons, and  you  must  answer  to  the  captain,  who  in 
his  turn  is  responsible  for  his  whole  company  to 
the  officer  commanding  the  battalion,  and  so  on. 

176 


THE  CLASS 

All  are  responsible  and  must  answer  for  the  life  of 
every  soldier. 

"  The  gas  officer  will  carry  on  independently  of 
you  all,  and  check  you  all  up.  As  the  M.  O.'  is 
supreme  in  his  sphere,  so  is  the  gas  officer  in  his." 

"  Thank  you,  sir,"  replied  the  young  officer  who 
had  sought  enlightenment. 

"  But  to  get  back  to  our  subject,  alarms,"  smiled 
Big  Van,  nodding  pleasantly  to  the  last  speaker. 

"  Of  course  you  must  bear  in  mind  that  I  am 
referring  now  to  gas  clouds  when  the  opposing 
trenches  are  close  together.  As  for  the  shell,  they 
arrive  first,  and  we  know  of  their  presence  only 
when  we  have  smelled  or  felt  them. 

"And  right  here  let  me  caution  you,  lest  I  should 
forget  it  later ;  never  allow  your  men  for  any  reason 
whatever  to  remove  their  masks  once  they  have  been 
ordered  to  put  them  on,  until  they  are  just  as  specif- 
ically ordered  to  take  them  off  again.  Get  that 
into  your  mask  drills,  too. 

"  One  of  the  Boche  tricks  is  to  follow  up  the 
first  gas  wave  by  another  just  about  the  time  we 
are  beginning  to  think  all  clear;  it  may  be  two 
hours  after  the  first  one.  And  usually  this  second 
one  is  followed  up  closely  by  their  bombers;  so 
always  look  out  for  it,  fellows,  whether  it  comes 
or  not. 

*  Medical  officer. 
177 


FIGHTING  tVITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 


"  To  begin  with,  of  course,  if  there  is  no  wind,  or 
if  the  wind  is  blowing  from  us  toward  the  enemy, 

there  is  little  danger  of  any 
new  gas  cloud,  so  it  is  up  to 
you  to  keep  tabs  on  the  wind 
always. 

"  To  do  that  is  easy 
enough  in  the  daytime;  but 
not  so  easy  at  night.  You 
can  have  made  some  very 
small  windmills,  just  such 
as  we  used  to  make  at  school 
for  amusement,"  smiled  the 
young  instructor,  "and  stick 
them  up  on  the  parapet  of 
your  bit  of  trench,  or  even 
a  piece  of  woolen  yarn  from 
your  sock,  tied  to  the  branch 
of  a  twig  and  stuck  up 
there  will  do,  so  long  as  you 
can  see  it. 

"  The  speed  of  the  wind  ought  also  to  be  taken 
into  consideration." 

Lieutenant  Van  Home  ceased  speaking  again, 
and  smiling  broadly,  queried: 

"  By  the  way,  how  many  of  you  know  what 
Beaufort's  Scale  is? 
"  Hands  up,  please? " 

178 


An  American  Gas-Mask 

The  "doughboys"  learned  to 

adjust  it  in  seven  seconds. 


THE  CLASS 

Four  of  the  young  officers  raised  their  hands,  but 
not  very  high  and  rather  hesitatingly. 

"  All  right!  "  said  Van  Home. 

"  Well,  it  will  be  worth  your  while  making  a  note 
of  it,  fellows. 

"  It's  a  rule-of -thumb  for  gauging  the  wind 
that  has  long  been  in  use  among  sailors.  It  was 
many  years  ago  compiled  by  an  English  admiral 
named  '  Beaufort.' 

"  Better  take  this  down  in  your  note-books  and 
memorize  it;  I'll  just  giYe  you  the  part  that  applies 
on  land  especially,"  he  added. 

"  How  shall  we  head  the  note,  sir? "  asked  one 
of  the  class. 

"  Just,  *  Beaufort's  Scale,'  B-e-a-u-f-o-r-t,"  re- 
plied his  instructor,  and  then  he  slowly  dictated: 


'*Wind  speed,  (nil)  — Smoke  goes  straight  up. 

Wind  speed,    2  mi.  per  hour — Smoke  slants. 
Wind  speed,    5  mi.  per  hour — Wind  felt  on  face.    ' 
Wind  speed,  10  mi.  per  hour — Loose  bits  of  paper  and 

leaves  move  about. 
Wind  speed,  15  mi.  per  hour — Bushes  sway. 
Wind  speed,  20  mi.  per  hour — Tree-tops  sway. 
Wind  speed,  30  mi.  per  hour — Wind  whistles  through 

tree-tops. 

"  That's  all,  and  it's  worth  knowing,"  he  con- 
cluded. 

179 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMY 

"  But  that  can't  be  of  much  use  at  night,  sir? " 
protested  one  of  his  pupils  inquiringly. 

"  No,  that's  true,"  replied  Van  Home. 

"  To  detect  the  gas  at  night  you  must  depend 
chiefly  upon  your  nose.  But  you  can  get  a  line  on 
the  direction  of  the  wind  by  taking  an  occasional 
squint  at  your  wind-vane,  if  you  happen  to  have 
an  electric  torch  handy;  but  that  is  always 
risky. 

"  Snipers  or  machine  gimners  across  the  way 
will  quickly  mark  down  the  spot  where  the  flash 
appears  more  than  once.  A  better  way  is  to 
moisten  one  side  of  your  face,  and  then  turn  your 
head  slowly  about.  Even  when  you  cannot  notice 
the  wind  at  all  on  the  dry  side,  you  can  feel  it  on 
the  wet  cheek. 

"At  night  it  is  all  the  more  necessary  to  give  the 
alarm  promptly. 

"Any  of  you  who  have  ever  tried  on  a  mask,"  the 
speaker  pursued  with  a  dry  smile  at  the  recollection 
of  their  occupation  when  he  had  first  entered  the 
marquee,  "  can  readily  understand  that  it  is  alto- 
gether impossible  to  shout  or  whistle  a  warning  with 
one  on,  or  to  blow  a  bugle.  Yet  it  would  never  do 
for  the  sentinel  to  wait  till  after  he  had  given  the 
alarm  before  putting  on  his  own  mask. 

"And  so  we  have  always  had  to  use  some  out- 
side means  of  making  a  different  loud  noise — the 

1 80 


THE  CLASS 

louder  the  better — that  would  be  recognized  by  all 
who  heard  it  as  the  dread  gas  alarm. 

"  Bells  and  gongs  and  auto  horns  have  been 
tried.  The  motor  horns  are  good;  but  we  never 
could  get  enough  of  them,  some  way  or  other.  The 
best  of  the  gongs,  because  the  handiest  and  most 
plentiful,  is  an  empty  shell  case  hung  by  a  cord  from 
a  stick  laid  across  the  angle  of  a  traverse  where  it 
joins  the  fire-bay." 

A  member  of  the  class  held  up  his  hand,  signify- 
ing his  wish  to  ask  a  question,  and  Van  Home 
nodded. 

"  Which  is  the  better  of  them,  sir,  the  gong  or  the 
horn? " 

"  The  shell-gong,  I  should  say,"  replied  his  in- 
structor. "  But  even  that  can  only  be  used  for  a 
local  warning.  At  an  alarm  of  gas,  you  know, 
everybody  has  to  turn  out,  and  if  the  alarm  is  only 
good  locally  sentinels  must  awaken  men  and  of- 
ficers in  dugouts  and  billets,  and  if  there  are  any 
inhabited  villages  or  farms  just  back  of  the  lines 
messengers  must  be  dispatched  to  them. 

"And  although  we  still  make  an  emergency  use 
of  the  shell-gong,  at  present  as  soon  as  possible 
after  they  have  been  organized  our  trenches  are 
equipped  with  a  mechanical  alarm  that  can  be 
heard  above  the  clatter  of  machine-gun  fire,  or  even 
the  din  of  bursting  shell. 

i8i 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

"  It  is  called  the  *  Strombos  Horn/  These  are 
installed  in  the  fire-trenches,  one  for  every  four 
hundred  or  five  hundred  yards,  and  at  longer  and 
longer  intervals  apart  down  through  the  com- 
munication trenches  and  clear  out  to  brigade  and 
divisional  headquarters. 

"  By  means  of  them  an  alarm  started  in  the  fire- 
trench  can  be  passed  along  and  clear  out  back  of  the 
lines  almost  as  quickly  as  sound  itself  can  travel. 
The  noise  they  make  is " 

On  the  table  in  front  of  the  speaker,  along  with 
the  other  appliances  he  had  requisitioned  from  the 
Q.  M.  was  an  iron  compressed-air  cylinder  having 
at  one  end  a  stop-cock  surmounted  by  an  odd-look- 
ing funnel-shaped  contrivance. 

As  Van  Home  was  about  to  make  the  remark 
just  above  quoted  he  bent  abruptly  over  the  cylin- 
der and  gave  a  twist  to  the  stop-cock.  The  re- 
sultant, ear-splitting  and  prolonged  shriek  brought 
every  member  of  the  class  to  his  feet  with  a  jump. 
The  sudden  piercing  noise  was  almost  deafening. 
Most  of  the  class  involuntarily  clapped  their  hands 
to  their  ears.    An  instant  they  stood  thus. 

Their  instructor  then  turned  off  the  excruciating 

screech  as  abruptly  as  he  had  turned  it  on.     The 

whole  class  sat  Aown  like  one  man  as  suddenly  as 

they  had  arisen.     They  had  moved  up  and  down 

like  marionettes  upon  a  string.  , 

182 


THE  CLASS 

Van  smilingly  finished  his  interrupted  sentence: 

"  The  noise  they  make  is — that,"  he  said. 

The  class  began  to  laugh,  and  in  their  laughter 
were  joined  by  a  fresh  group  of  young  officers  who 
had  appeared  at  the  front  of  the  marquee,  just  as 
Van  Home  turned  on  the  Strombos  Horn.  To 
the  latter's  surprise  he  saw  that  the  next  class  had 
arrived.     He  glanced  at  his  wrist  watch. 

"  Time  for  the  next  class,  fellows.  Sorry  we 
did  not  get  down  to  the  practical  work  this  morn- 
ing; but  to-morrow  will  be  another  day.  Good- 
morning!  " 

The  one  class  filed  out  through  the  rear  of  the 
marquee  while  another  filed  in  from  the  front  and 
took  their  places. 


.183 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  FRONT 

^'This  is  the  song  of  the  gun — 
The  muttering,  stuttering  gun. 
The  maddening,  gladdening  gun — 
That  chuckles  with  evil  glee 
At  the  last,  long  drive  of  the  Hun," 

Later  on  that  same  day  that  Rodman  Van 
Home  left  Paris  for  the  training  camp,  Ralph 
Storm,  accompanied  by  Baptiste  Trudeau,  took  his 
departure  also  from  the  French  capital,  bound  for 
Toxil,  then  the  hub  of  active  American  operations 
down  in  the  Lorraine  sector  of  the  Western  Front. 

Early  the  following  morning  they  arrived  in  that 
ancient  fortress  surrounded  by  her  grass-concealed 
ramparts  of  steel.  Toul  is  one  of  the  oldest,  and  is 
the  strongest  but  one  of  all  the  fortified  cities  of 
that  part  of  Lorraine  which  the  Prussians  had  left 
to  France  after  the  Franco-Prussian  War  of  nearly 
a  half  century  ago. 

Both  Lieutenant  Storm  and  Baptiste  were  eager 
to  get  on,  and  they  met  with  no  untoward  delay 
there.     After  a  good  breakfast  for  both  at  the 

184 


THE  FRONT 

Hotel  de  la  Comedie,  Ralph  reported  at  divisional 
headquarters  and  there  had  no  difficulty  in  procur- 
ing motor  transport  clear  through  to  the  Post  of 
Command  of  his  own  regiment.  He  was  there 
informed  also  that  it  would  not  be  necessary  for 
him  to  stop  at  Brigade  Headquarters,  then  at  the 
considerable  town  of  Domevre. 

The  main  wagon-road  leading  directly  north 
from  Toul — an  old  Roman  road  dating  back  to 
the  days  of  the  Caesars — was  as  congested  with  four 
distinct  streams  of  traffic  as  was  every  highway 
leading  to  and  from  a  divisional  headquarters  in 
France.  Two  streams  of  heavy  wheeled  traffic — 
lorries,  motors,  guns,  and  mule  teams  without  end — 
in  the  centre;  one  coming,  one  going;  and  one  of 
foot-sloggers  on  the  outer  edge  of  each  side  of  the 
road. 

All  this  was  an  old  story  to  Ralph  Storm,  who 
had  already  participated  in  two  campaigns,  and  it 
interested  him  but  little  more  than  it  did  his  com- 
panion, Baptiste,  who  was  already  fast  asleep  on 
his  seat  in  front  with  the  khaki-clad  driver.  His 
predominant  feeling  was  merely  impatience  at  the 
snail's  pace  at  which  they  were  forced  to  proceed; 
none  could  move  faster  than  the  slowest  of  the 
plodding  mule-teams  and  heavy,  lumbering  guns 
ahead. 

About  three  miles  north  of  Toul,  however,  the 

185 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  5.  ARMT 

main  wagon-road  forked,  and  they  turned  off  into 
that  branch  which  led  in  a  northwesterly  direction. 

There  the  going  for  a  space  was  better.  About 
fifteen  miles  further  on  they  turned  to  the  right 
again  at  a  crossroad,  and  the  enforced  slowness  of 
their  progress  again  from  there  on,  and  the  in- 
creasing roughness  of  what  had  once  been  one  of 
the  smoothest  metalled '  roads  of  France  suddenly 
awakened  Ralph  to  the  realization  that  they  were 
already  in  that  part  of  the  sector  that  had  been 
bloodily  fought  over  but  three  years  before,  when 
the  brave  French  under  General  Castelnau  had 
succeeded  in  driving  the  invader  back  to  the  line 
which  he  at  present  held. 

The  villages  through  which  they  were  then  pass- 
ing— or  rather,  what  had  once  been  the  tiny  hamlets 
dotting  the  road,  sometimes  not  more  than  a  mile 
apart — had  been  ground  down  into  bricks  and 
brick-dust  for  the  most  part.  The  trees  along  the 
roadside  had  been  shattered  half-way  up  their 
trunks,  or  had  their  tops  broken  and  lopped  off; 
they  somehow  reminded  one  of  the  stumps  of  old 
brooms. 

The  road  itself,  although  it  had  been  made 
passable  again  by  the  French  engineers,  and  had 
been  later  worked  over  by  our  own  engineers,  was 


1  tt 


Metalled"   is  a  term  applied   to   stone  roads  capable   of 
bearing  the  heaviest  kind  of  traffic. 

I86 


THE  FRONT 

still  very  rough  and  uneven  where  the  big  shell  had 
fallen  thick,  and  in  many  places  the  craters  made 
by  "  coal-boxes,"  too  wide  and  deep  to  be  easily 
and  quickly  filled  in,  had  been  rudely  bridged  over. 

The  stretch  of  land  on  either  side  of  the  road  was 
derelict  and  desert.  Although  no  shell  were  fall- 
ing there  just  then,  they  might  at  any  time.  And 
so  no  effort  had  been  made  since  to  cultivate  the 
land,  whose  gently  undulating  surface  was  a  mass 
of  long  coarse  grass  and  weeds,  the  green  of  it  re- 
lieved every  here  and  there  by  yellow  mustard  and 
blue  corn-flower,  or  the  blood-red  poppy.  In  spots 
where  the  suffering  soil  had  been  churned  up  be- 
yond endurance  even  the  poppy  had  been  killed, 
and  the  land  lay  bare  and  naked. 

Although  the  traffic  there  was  not  nearly  so  great 
as  on  the  main  roads  there  was  something  or  some 
one  coming  or  going  all  the  time,  and  for  the  most 
part  they  were  Americans.  Lieutenant  Storm 
eyed  them  curiously  and  with  much  interest.  On 
the  whole  his  experienced  verdict  on  the  way  they 
were  carrying  on  was  one  of  approval. 

All  at  once  they  found  themselves  passing  two 
companies  of  blue-steel  helmeted  poilus  going  in 
the  same  direction  as  themselves,  but  on  another 
road  a  little  distance  to  the  right,  and  parallel  to 
the  one  on  which  they  were.  Ralph  surmised  that 
these  must  be  some  of  the  few  French  soldiers  who 

187 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S,  ARMT 

were  still  left  to  leaven  the  raw  Yankee  boys,  as  the 
latter  gradually  took  over  on  their  own  a  broader 
and  broader  frontage  there. 

Suddenly  apparently  out  of  nowhere  a  mounted 
American  artillery  officer  clattered  across  the  road 
just  ahead  of  them.  Not  two  hundred  yards  from 
the  road  he  reined  up  and  slipped  from  the  saddle 
all  in  the  one  and  same  movement.  He  blew  a 
sharp  attention-attracting  blast  on  his  whistle,  and 
barked  out  a  series  of  commands  that  reminded  one 
of  the  signals  shouted  by  a  football  captain. 

These  were  followed  in  another  minute  by  the 
sharp  query: 

"  Piece  number  five,  ready? " 

Over  on  the  road  in  the  motor  car  they  could 
hear  his  words  quite  plainly. 


The  Famous  Fbench  "75 


"  Stop ! "  said  Ralph  to  the  chauffeur. 
The  reply  to  the  artillery  officer's  query  came 
quickly  from  piece  number  five: 

i88 


THE  FRONT 

"Ready,  sir!" 

And  the  same  answer  followed  in  quick  succes- 
sion from  the  other  four  pieces  of  the  battery  of 
field  artillery. 

Squatting  flat  in  the  long  grass  and  wild  flowers 
of  the  neglected  meadow  was  this  battery  of  "  Char- 
lottes," as  the  French  soldiers  affectionately  call 
their  redoubtable  75's,  loaned  to  our  artillerymen 
till  such  time  as  our  own  guns  arrived  from  over- 
seas. 

Only  the  slender  noses  of  those  famous  little 
field  guns,  pointing  skyward  at  an  angle  of  forty- 
three  and  a  half  degrees,*  showed  above  the  sur- 
rounding grass  and  weeds  and  wild  flowers.  So 
cunningly  camouflaged  were  they  with  mottled 
gTeen  and  yellow  paint,  blending  so  well  with  their 
immediate  neighborhood,  that  Lieutenant  Storm 
might  well  have  driven  past  them  without  ever 
knowing  that  they  were  there,  had  not  the  galloping 
officer  attracted  his  attention. 

"  Fire! "  barked  the  lieutenant  of  artillery. 

The  response  was  marvelous. 

A  faint  puff  of  white  fume  scarcely  discernible 
from  each  slender  nose;  a  clear,  terrible  bark  from 
each  iron  throat  that  merged  into  one  savage  yelp; 

'A  gun  of  any  size  has  its  farthest  trajectory  when  pointed 
at  an  angle  of  43.5  degrees.  If  pointed  either  higher  or  lower, 
the  shell  fall  at  a  shorter  distance. 

189 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U,  5.  ARMr 

the  slender  noses  disappeared,  to  reappear  again 
instantly,  as  if  by  magic! 

Four  times  was  this  action  repeated  almost  as 
quickly  as  a  sniper  could  empty  the  magazine  of 
his  rifle. 

Then  all  was  still. 

Twenty-five  75  m.  m.  shell  (2.9  inches),  each 
weighing  fifteen  pounds  and  loaded  with  three  hun- 
dred shrapnel  bullets,  had  sought  and  found  their 
German  billets  nearly  five  miles  away. 

In  less  than  half  a  minute  it  was  all  over  and  the 
guns  were  silent  again. 

From  one  of  those  French  75's  a  crack  crew  can 
fire  twenty  roimds  a  minute,  which  means  a  spray 
of  6,000  shrapnel  bullets  in  just  sixty  seconds. 
It  is  no  wonder  that  the  graceful  "  Charlotte  "  is 
considered  by  the  Allies  to  be  the  Empress  of  the 
Battle-field.  She  is  a  typical  little  French  lady, 
dainty,  lithe,  superb,  and  she  gets  her  own  way 
everywhere — always . 

"Good  work,  sir!"  grunted  the  chauffeur  to 
Lieutenant  Storm. 

"  Fine!  "  acquiesced  Ralph.     "  Drive  on!  " 

Just  a  short  distance  further  on  was  located  the 
regimental  Post  of  Command.  Ralph  Storm 
would  not  have  known  that  he  had  reached  his 
destination,  had  he  not  been  so  informed  by  the 
Army  Service  chauffeur,  who  made  frequent  trips 

190 


THE  FRONT 

out  of  Toul  daily,  carrying  staff  officers  bent  on 
tours  of  inspection  from  divisional  and  brigade 
headquarters  to  the  various  regimental  P.  C/s  of 
that  sector. 

This  information  the  chauffeur  volunteered  to 
Ralph  as  they  were  crossing  a  trestlework  of  tim- 
ber with  the  bark  still  on.  To  Storm's  experienced 
eye  it  was  quite  clear  that  the  great  gap  in  the 
old  Roman  road-bed,  till  then  solid  and  undisturbed 
since  Csesar's  time,  had  been  made  by  a  mine. 

Even  as  the  soldier  chauffeur  was  speaking  an 
attentive  ear  might  have  discerned  the  faint  sound 
of  rifle-fire,  and  the  subdued  purr  of  a  machine  gun. 
Lieutenant  Storm's  eyes  gleamed  exultantly  and 
he  muttered  half  aloud: 

"Just  as  I  thought  they  would!  Our  fellows 
will  not  give  Fritz  a  chance  to  forget  that  they  are 
on  the  job,  now  that  they  are  here! " 

From  the  other  side  of  the  bridge  the  straight 
road  ran  on  right  through  another  of  those  little 
towns  of  French  Lorraine  that  once  had  names. 
There  never  was,  and  never  will  be,  a  more  com- 
plete illustration  of  the  German  invader's  mania  for 
destruction  than  was  there  presented.  To  a 
civilian's  eye  it  might  have  appeared  that  the  little 
place  had  been  heavily  shelled.  Ralph  knew  at 
once,  however,  that  such  had  not  been  the  case. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  not  a  single  shell  had  ever 

191 


FIGHTING  fFITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMY 

fallen  there;  yet  to  left  and  right  of  the  single 
straight  street  every  structure  had  been  burned  and 
pulled  to  pieces  literally  till  not  a  single  wall  stood 


Aetillery  Attack  on  Earthwoeks  (1) 

Showing  the  action  on  bursting  of  Time  Shells,  fitted  with  a  time  fuse 
set  so  as  to  detonate  the  shell  a  certain  number  of  seconds  after  it  has 
been  fired  from  the  gun  or  howitzer.  Time  shells  may  be  of  the  H.  E. 
type  ;  but  more  generally  are  of  the  shrapnel  variety. 

The  width  of  the  area  and  [ground  struck  by  the  bullets  of  an  effective 
shrapnel  is  about  25  yards.  The  length  of  the  forward  spread  of  the 
bullets  of  shrapnel  burst  at  effective  range  is  about  200  yards, 

A — Entrenched  ground  with  trenches  facing  left. 

B — Shrapnel  Shell  with  time  fuse,  fired  from  a  gun,  and  having  \  slope. 

C — Common  H.  E.  Shell  with  time  fuse,  fired  from  gun,  and  having  \  slope. 

D— Shrapnel  Shell  with  time  fuse,  fired  from  a  howitzer,  and  having  f 
slope. 


where  it  had  been.  The  wreck  was  complete. 
When  fire  had  done  all  that  it  could,  great  wire 
cables  had  been  threaded  through  the  windows  of 
the  walls  that  still  stood.  Teams  of  horses  had 
then  been  hitched  to  the  ends  of  the  cables,  and  the 

192 


THE  FRONT 

horses  cruelly  flogged  till  they  pulled  the  steel 
cables  through  what  remained  of  the  walls  between, 
and  brought  the  whole  tumbling  down  into  the 
street. 

The  Hun  thought  to  level  it  so  that  it  could 
afford  no  shelter  to  the  pursuing  poilu.  He  little 
thought  then  that  the  crushed  heaps  of  brick  and 
mortar  would  one  day  afford  the  very  best  kind  of 
overhead  shelter  to  the  American  doughboys  who 
now  burrowed  beneath  them. 

The  car  stopped,  and  the  soldier  chauffeur 
pointed  to  a  heap  of  mixed  broken  brick,  mortar, 
and  charred  beams,  distinguished  from  the  other 
similar  heaps  along  both  sides  of  the  road  only  by 
its  size.  It  was  larger  than  any  of  the  other  heaps, 
and  in  fact  represented  what  was  left  of  the  town's 
once  most  imposing  residence. 

About  three  feet  of  one  brick  wall  running  at 
right  angles  to  the  road  was  all  of  the  structure  that 
remained  intact. 

"  That's  it,  sir,"  said  the  chauffeur  laconically. 
"  You  get  in  through  a  hole  under  that  bit  of  brick 
wall  there." 

They  all  got  out  of  the  car  and  piled  the  few 
articles  of  Ralph's  kit  and  Baptiste's  pack  by  the 
roadside.  When  this  was  done,  the  chauffeur,  after 
receiving  a  substantial  tip,  or  "  pour-boire,"  as  the 
French  say,  turned  his  machine  about,  and  with  a 

193 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

parting  wave  of  his  hand  started  on  his  way  back 
to  Toul. 

Followed  by  Baptiste,  Ralph  picked  his  way  over 
the  skirts  of  the  rubbish  heap  and  around  in  front 


Artillery  Attack  on  Earthworks  (2) 

Showing  the  action  on  bursting,  of  Percussion  Type  Shells,  or  shells  that 

burst  only  when  they  strike  some  objective. 
A — Entrenched  ground  with  trenches  facing  left. 
B — H.  E.  (High  Explosive)  Shell  fired  from  a  gun  and  striking  with  \ 

slope. 
C — H.  E.  Shell  fired  from  howitzer,  and  striking  with  \  slope. 
D — H.  E.  Shell  fired  from  howitzer,  and  striking  with  ^  slope. 


of  the  bit  of  wall  beneath  which  the  chauffeur  had 
said  he  should  find  a  hole. 

An  armed  sentry  sprang  to  attention  and  saluted 
the  young  officer  at  the  entrance  to  a  ditched  in- 
cline that  led  steeply  down  to  a  low  square  open- 
ing broken  through  the  thick  cellar  wall  of  stone. 
A  pair  of  heavy  gray  army  blankets  were  draped 

194 


THE  FRONT 

above  the  orifice,  and  were  just  then  propped  apart 
by  two  or  three  long  poles  in  order  to  admit  some 
light  and  air  to  the  Post  of  Command.  Ralph 
knew  that  the  blankets  were  there  to  close  the  hole 
against  gas  in  case  of  emergency. 

Just  as  they  were  about  to  descend  the  short 
steep  incline  a  soldier  emerged  from  the  hole  and 
began  to  ascend  it.  He  wore  his  grass-green  trench 
helmet  and  carried  his  gas-mask  at  the  "  alerte." 
He  saluted  Lieutenant  Storm  as  he  passed;  then 
hesitated  an  instant  and,  half-turning,  looked  back 
at  the  young  officer  and  his  companion  curiously 
and  with  a  somewhat  startled  expression.  And 
again  he  looked  back  with  a  faint  grin  on  his  face 
as  he  proceeded  to  mount  a  motor-cycle  that  had 
been  leaning  against  the  bit  of  brick  wall.  Ralph 
merely  recognized  in  him  a  messenger,  as  he  glanced 
casually  at  the  young  soldier  in  returning  his  sa- 
lute. 

Stooping  low  the  pair  entered  the  headquarters 
of  their  regiment  for  the  first  time.  They  found 
themselves  in  a  square  room,  low,  heavily  beamed, 
and  reinforced  on  all  sides  with  concrete. 

The  first  thing  that  either  of  them  noticed  was 
the  fragrant  smell  of  hot  coffee  that  seemed  to  fill 
the  place.  _In  spite  of  the  fact  that  it  was  broad 
day  outside  two  oil  lamps  gleamed  redly  on  three 
strong  faces  that  looked  up  from  a  roughly  C9,r- 

195 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

pentered  table  that  stood  in  the  centre  of  the  room 
when  the  figures  of  Storm  and  his  companion  dark- 
ened the  entrance. 

The  table  was  littered  with  papers  and  some 
charts.  Off  to  one  side  and  near  the  wall  was  an- 
other, smaller  table,  at  which  sat  a  fourth  officer,  a 
lieutenant,  listening  at  the  receiver  of  a  field  tele- 
phone, and  making  some  notes  on  a  pad  of  paper 
as  he  listened. 

The  ceiling  was  too  low  for  Storm  to  stand  quite 
erect;  yet  he  clicked  his  heels  together  and  managed 
a  salute,  though  not  a  very  smart  nor  graceful  one. 
Baptiste  stood  at  attention  behind  him. 

"  Lieutenant  Storm  and  Private  Trudeau,  sir, 
reporting  for  duty!  "  said  Ralph,  deferentially  ad- 
dressing the  central  officer  of  the  trio,  whom  he 
recognized  as  a  lieutenant-colonel  by  his  rank 
badges,  and  at  once  correctly  surmised  to  be 
Colonel  Richards,  the  officer  in  command  of  his 
regiment. 

"  Oh,  yes,"  returned  that  senior  officer,  rising  and 
extending  his  hand  across  the  table  to  Ralph. 

"  How  are  you,  Storm?    We  were  expecting 

you." 

The  two  other  officers  moved  around  the  table  to 
where  Ralph  was  standing,  and  each  in  turn  men- 
tioned his  name  as  they,  too,  extended  their  hands 
in  greeting  and  welcome  to  a  comrade.     One  of 

196 


THE  FRONT 

them  was  Captain  Sparks,  adjutant  of  the  regi- 
ment, and  the  other  Captain  John  Goring,  then  in 
command  of  "A"  Company,  the  one  to  which 
Storm's  platoon  belonged. 

The  last  mentioned  officer  gave  Ralph  an  espe- 
cially warm  hand-clasp,  saying: 

"  Glad  to  have  you  with  us.  Storm.  We  have 
been  keeping  a  platoon  open  for  you  for  more  than 
two  weeks. 

"  You  have  come  just  at  the  right  time,-  too,"  he 
added  smilingly  and  meaningly,  "  as  you  will  very 
soon  find  out  for  yourself." 

"  Let  us  step  outside  where  we  can  see  one  an- 
other better,"  said  the  colonel.  "  I  think  we  have 
cleaned  up  everything  inside  here  for  the  present. 
Have  we  not.  Captain  Sparks?  " 

"  Yes,  sir.  Everything  that  needs  your  immedi- 
ate attention,  sir." 

"  Where  is  the  other  one — the  big  fellow — ^whom 
we  were  expecting  along  with  you?  I  believe  he 
is  a  friend  of  yours? "  queried  Colonel  Richards  as 
they  emerged  into  the  sunshine  again. 

"  Lieutenant  Van  Home,  sir?  "  asked  Storm. 

"  I  believe  that  was  his  name,  was  it  not, 
Sparks?" 

"  Yes,  sir,"  replied  the  adjutant.  "  When  we 
were  notified  of  his  appointment  to  the  regiment  it 
was  mentioned  that  he  possessed  special  qualifica- 

197 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U,  S,  ARMT 

tions  as  a  gas  officer;  and  you  had  him  slated  for 
that  position  with  the  regiment,  sir." 

"  I  remember,"  rejoined  Colonel  Richards,  and 
again  addressing  Ralph,  he  queried: 

"  Have  you  any  information  concerning  him? 
Why  he  has  not  also  reported  to  me?  " 

"  Yes,  sir.  Yesterday  he  was  unexpectedly  or- 
dered to  report  for  duty  at  the  Training  Camp  near 
Harfleur,  to  carry  on  there  as  a  gas  instructor  till 
further  orders." 

"  That's  not  a  fair  deal  for  us,"  observed 
the  colonel,  and  his  thin  lips  tightened  deci- 
sively. 

"  Take  the  matter  up  with  Paris  Headquarters 
at  once.  Captain  Sparks !  "  he  continued.  "  Insist 
strongly  on  Lieutenant  Van  Home's  being  allowed 
to  report  to  his  own  regiment  without  delay. 
Dwell  upon  the  fact  that  we  are  here  in  the  front 
line,  right  up  against  the  enemy  trenches — in  some 
places  within  actual  bomb  throwing  distance  of 
them — and  that  we  are  forced  to  make  shift  with  an 
acting  gas  officer  who  has  had  no  special  training 
for  the  post.     Make  it  strong.  Sparks !  " 

While  the  C.  O.  was  speaking  he  had  been 
silently  but  unobtrusively  giving  Ralph  the  "  once 
over."  The  latter  was  aware  of  this,  of  course,  and 
felt  somewhat  embarrassed  under  his  superior's 
swift  mental  inventory. 

198 


THE  FRONT 

"  Who  is  this  man  with  you? "  the  colonel  then 
abruptly  inquired,  glancing  at  Baptiste,  who  had 
silently  followed  the  four  officers  from  the  dugout, 
and  was  again  standing  stiffly  at  "  attention " 
hard  by. 

Ralph  rendered  the  C.  O.  a  brief  account  of  the 
French  Canadian's  past  service  and  experience  as  a 
soldier,  and  of  his  recent  enlistment  under  the  Stars 
and  Stripes. 

Before  Ralph  had  quite  finished  his  narration  the 
C.  O.  threw  a  kindly,  though  fleeting,  smile  to  Bap- 
tiste, and  uttered  the  simple  command,  "  Rest!  " 

Baptiste  saluted,  and  was  only  too  glad  to  as- 
sume an  easier  position  than  that  of  "  attention." 

"  Put  Private  Trudeau  in  'A'  Company,  Captain 
Sparks,"  said  Colonel  Richards  when  Storm  had 
concluded,  "  and  I  dare  say,  Captain  Goring,  that 
you  can  find  room  for  him  in  Lieutenant  Storm's 
platoon.     He  will  probably  prefer  it  that  way." 

Ralph  and  the  French  Canadian  exchanged  a 
quick  glance  and  a  little  smile.  Baptiste  was 
pleased  at  the  prospect  of  being  in  Storm's  platoon ; 
and  the  latter  already  knew  the  French  Canadian 
to  be  a  brave  man  and  a  first  class  soldier.  Later 
Captain  Goring  instructed  his  sergeant-major  to 
detail  Private  Trudeau  as  Storm's  "  striker,"  or  sol- 
dier servant. 

The  C.  O.,  with  a  wave  of  his  riding-crop,  sig- 

199 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

naled  to  an  orderly  who  had  been  leading  a 
magnificent  bay  charger  up  and  down  the  road 
near  by,  and  as  he  prepared  to  mount  said  to  Ralph: 

"  Captain  Goring  will  look  after  you,  I  am  sure, 
Lieutenant  Storm,  and  see  that  you  are  properly 
bestowed  as  to  quarters,  and  assigned  to  work. 
Good-morning,  gentlemen ! " 

The  adjutant  turned  back  into  the  P.  C.  dug- 
out. 

Captain  Goring  made  arrangements  with  a 
sergeant  to  have  Ralph's  and  Baptiste's  kits  con- 
veyed to  their  billets.  Baptiste  would  have  had  to 
carry  his  own  pack  had  not  Lieutenant  Storm  called 
the  captain's  attention  to  his  still  weakened  con- 
dition, due  to  the  privation  and  suffering  he  had 
undergone  while  a  prisoner  of  war  among  the 
Germans. 

"  We'll  pass  your  billet  on  the  way  to  Company 
H.  Q.,"  said  Captain  Goring  to  Ralph.  "  I'll  point 
it  out  to  you." 

Then  to  Storm's  surprise  they  began  to  walk 
down  the  road  in  the  very  direction  from  which  he 
had  come  in  the  car  but  a  short  while  before.  He 
had  expected  to  go  in  quite  the  other  direction,  up 
nearer  the  trenches. 

"  Just  two  days  ago,"  the  captain  began,  as  they 
fell  into  step  side  by  side,  "  we  came  out  of  the  fire- 
trench  after  our  second  spell  at  it  there.    We  are 

200 


THE  FRONT 

now  in  billets  at  a  little  place  back  there  that  Fritz 
seems  to  have  overlooked,  or  for  some  inexplicable 
reason  saw  fit  to  leave  intact.  Perhaps,  as  it  is  a 
little  out  of  the  way,  it  was  deemed  too  insignificant 
to  divert  their  shell  fire  toward  it." 

"  Rather  close  to  the  front  line  for  rest  billets,  is 
it  not,  sir?  "  queried  Storm. 

"A  little  more  than  five  miles,"  rejoined  Captain 
Goring. 

"And  we  can  scarcely  call  them  rest  billets.  In- 
deed I  think  the  men  would  be  more  likely  to  call 
them  work  billets." 

"  In  most  cases  '  work  billets '  would  certainly 
be  the  more  suitable  name  for  it;  what  with  daily 
drills,  extra  fatigues,  work  parties,  and  carrying 
parties,"  acquiesced  Ralph  with  a  reminiscent  smile. 

"And  in  our  present  case  most  certainly  so," 
agreed  the  captain. 

"  This  time  we  were  pulled  out  of  the  trenches 
two  days  before  our  trick  was  up.  The  men  at 
once  suspected  that  there  was  something  special  do- 
ing, and  now  that  they  are  certain  of  it  they  are 
taking  hold  of  the  work  as  if  it  were  a  game,  bless 
their  hearts." 

Lieutenant  Storm  cast  a  quick  glance  of  sur- 
prised interrogation  at  the  speaker;  but  there  was 
no  need  to  voice  his  curiosity.  Captain  Goring 
went  on: 

20I 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

"  You  see,  it's  just  like  this:  there  happens  to  be 
a  big  dent  in  our  front  line  just  about  the  middle 
of  the  section  that  our  regiment  is  responsible  for. 
It  was  left  so  by  the  French  when  we  relieved  them. 
Fritz  has  pushed  out  a  nasty  salient  right  opposite 
it;  and  the  whole  arrangement  has  been  a  thorn  in 
the  C.  O.'s  flesh  ever  since  we  *  took  over.' 

"  But  I  can  explain  that  better  to  you  when  we 
get  to  the  Company  P.  C,  where  I  have  a  good  map 
of  ours  and  the  enemy's  front-line  trenches,  show- 
ing their  relative  positions  to  each  other. 

"  The  long  and  short  of  it  is,"  continued  Cap- 
tain Goring,  "  that  the  C.  O.  has  at  last  obtained 
permission  to  straighten  up  our  front — he's  a  West 
Pointer,  you  know,  and  they  listen  to  him  at  Divi- 
sional H.  Q. 

"  Before  we  can  straighten  up  our  own  line,  how- 
ever, we  must  smash  in  that  salient.  The  C.  O. 
has  done  *A'^  Company  the  honor  to  choose  us  as 
the  '  Sturm  truppen,'  as  the  Germans  say,  to  do  the 
smashing.  And  it  is  our  part,  as  star  performers 
in  the  show,  that  we  are  now  rehearsing  back  here." 

"Great  Csesar,  you  don't  say  so!"  ejaculated 
Storm,  his  eyes  sparkling  with  eager  enthusiasm. 
"  That  is  certainly  fine,  and  I  surely  am  glad  that 
I  got  here  in  time  for  it! 

"  I  only  wish  Van  were  here  for  it,  too,"  he 
added. 

202 


THE  FRONT 

"You  mean  your  friend,  I  suppose?  The  one 
who  was  sent  down  to  the  training  camp,  instead  of 
coming  with  you?  Is  he  another  fire-eater,  also?  " 
laughed  Captain  Goring  ehaffingly,  although  at  the 
same  time  he  was  highly  pleased  at  his  new  platoon 
commander's  evident  enthusiasm  at  the  imminent 
prospect  of  a  brush  with  the  enemy. 

"  No,  he's  not  exactly  what  you  would  call  a 
fire-eater,"  replied  Ralph,  flushing  a  little  at  his 
captain's  raillery. 

"At  least  he  thinks  he's  not;  but  he  is  simply 
great  when  he  does  get  into  a  scrap,  just  the  same. 
You  ought  to  see  him,  sir.     He's  a  regular  giant." 

And  then  Ralph  launched  into  a  glowing  account 
of  his  chum's  prowess. 

Captain  Goring  not  only  listened  attentively,  but 
showed  his  sincere  interest  as  well  by  asking  several 
pertinent  questions  regarding  Rodman  Van  Home. 

Still  conversing  thus  they  turned  off  to  the  right 
on  a  narrow  crossroad  over  which  there  had  evi- 
dently been  but  scant  vehicular  traffic  for  some  time. 


2C3 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  SALIENT 

*' They've  mud  on  their  hands  and  their  faces, 
They've  mud  in  their  ears  and  their  hair, 
They've  mud  on  their  coats  and  their  braces. 
And  everything  else  that  they  wear, 

**No  matter  what  joy  may  he  fall  them, 
No  matter  how  gay  be  their  path, 
When  homeward  the  President  calls  them 
The  first  thing  they'll  ask  is  a  bath," 

Three-quarters  of  a  mile  along  the  neglected 
local  crossroad  Captain  Goring  and  Lieutenant 
Storm  found  themselves  descending  the  single 
street  of  the  little  communal  French  village  in 
which  Company  "A"  was  then  billeted. 

To  an  American  eye,  like  every  other  farm  vil- 
lage of  France,  at  first  sight  it  presented  a  de- 
cidedly uninteresting  and  almost  ugly  aspect. 

It  nestled  in  a  somewhat  deeper  depression  than 
was  common  in  that  generally  rolling  champagne, 
and  was  quite  hidden  from  the  traveler  on  the  main 
road. 

There  were  no  sidewalks.  Blank  brick  walls 
built  right  out  to  the  road  edge  shut  off  the  view 

204 


THE  SALIENT 

abruptly  on  either  side.  Other  brick  walls  ran  back 
in  straight  lines  from  the  front  walls,  dividing  off 
and  surrounding  on  three  sides  each  separate  barn- 
yard, for  the  "  back-yard  "  always  seemed  to  be  in 
front,  or  nearest  the  public  highway.  In  the 
centre  of  this  plot  of  ground,  exposed  to  view 
through  the  double  gates  that  broke  the  dull  red 
monotony  of  the  front  walls  at  regular  intervals, 
one  could  always  see  the  inevitable  and  highly 
prized  manure  pile.  Stables,  j)ig  styes,  poultry 
sheds,  and  other  outhouses  surrounded  the  odor- 
iferous centre  heap  on  three  sides,  and  leaned 
against  the  inside  surfaces  of  the  brick  walls. 

If  the  back  of  the  yard  was  at  the  front,  to  even 
things  up  the  front  of  the  house  was  at  the  back. 
There  were  admirably  laid  out  and  kept  vegetable 
and  fruit  gardens  there,  and  beautiful  hedges  began 
where  the  ugly  separating  walls  left  off,  and  con- 
tinued to  mark  the  boundaries  between  the  narrow 
farms. 

Beyond  the  gardens  and  another  fine  hedge  were 
the  meadows  and  fields  of  grain.  One  was  typical 
of  all. 

As  they  were  passing  one  of  those  inhospitable 
pairs  of  gates  Captain  Goring  said  to  Ralph: 

"  That  is  your  billet,  in  there!  " 

The  latter  noted  at  once  with  some  satisfaction 
that  the  American  Military  Police  had  already  been 

205 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  5.  ^RMT 

busy  there,  as  always,  about  billets.  The  usual 
monumental  heap  had  completely  disapjDeared  from 
the  foreground.  He  made  as  if  to  halt  in  front  of 
the  gates  indicated;  but  the  captain  said: 

"  Never  mind  it  just  now,  Storm !  No  use  going 
in  there  till  your  kit  comes.  I  want  you  to  come 
over  to  the  Company  P.  C.  with  me  at  present. 
You  can  wash  up  over  there  before  noon  *  chow.'  " 

Then  with  a  kindly  afterthought  he  added,  "  But 
Private  Trudeau  might  as  well  go  in  and  rest  there 
till  your  stuff  arrives." 

Baptiste  saluted  gratefully,  and  turned  in  at  the 
gate. 

The  Company  Post  of  Command  was  located  in 
another  thoroughly  policed  chaumiere. 

When  they  had  entered  it  the  captain,  after  sum- 
moning an  orderly,  said: 

"  Make  yourself  at  home  for  a  few  minutes, 
Storm!  I  have  a  few  routine  orders  to  dispatch. 
I  am  going  to  send  for  Lieutenant  Barrows,  too. 
He  has  command  of  number  one  platoon,  and  you 
and  he  will  have  to  cooperate  to  some  extent  in  the 
little  show  we  are  going  to  put  on  some  time  next 
week. 

"  Ever  heard  of  '  Chuck '  Barrows? "  he  asked. 

"  Not  *  Chuck  '  Barrows  of  Princeton,  last  year's 

great  half-back? "  queried  Storm  doubtingly. 

"  The   same,"   chuckled   the   captain.     "  Seems 

206 


THE  SALIENT 

funny,  doesn't  it?  More  than  once  I  played  against 
him  myself,  and  we  always  had  it  in  for  each  other 
in  those  days." 

It  gradually  dawned  upon  Ralph  that  this  genial 
and  unpretentious  senior  officer  of  his  was  none 
other  than  the  famous  "  Goring  of  Yale,"  and  last 
year's  renowned  All- American  left  tackle. 

Ralph  became  strangely  silent  and  subdued  for 
a  space  after  this  overpowering  realization  came  to 
him.  The  mere  prep-school  boy  had  all  at  once 
found  out  that  he  had  been  cheekily  talking-up  to 
a  Varsity  champion. 

The  captain,  however,  did  not  allow  him  to  re- 
tain this  feeling  of  inferiority  for  long.  Of  course 
he  was  wholly  unaware  of  his  young  lieutenant's 
entertaining  such  a  feeling  at  all. 

Captain  Goring  had  not  quite  finished  the  clerical 
work  upon  which  he  was  then  engaged  along  with 
his  Company  Q.  M.  S.  when  a  quick,  firm  tread 
resounded  on  the  stone  step  of  the  chaumiere,  and 
thence  across  the  neatly  tiled  floor. 

Ralph  at  once  recognized  the  lean  brown  face  of 
the  newcomer  as  that  of  one  of  the  heroes  of  his 
recent  schoolboy  dreams.  He  had  often  seen  it  in 
the  sporting  columns  of  the  newspapers,  and  had  in 
the  olden  time  followed  Chuck's  gridiron  career 
with  more  than  lively  interest. 

Lieutenant  Barrows  crossed  the  room,  halted 

207 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

three  paces  from  the  captain's  table,  clicked  his 
heels  together,  and  saluted  smartly. 

Ralph,  who  was  himself  tall  and  well  built, 
thought,  as  he  silently  sized  up  the  newcomer,  that 
he  had  never  in  all  his  life  perhaps  seen  but  one  man 
of  finer  physique  than  Charles  Barrows,  and  that 
other  one  was  his  friend,  Rodman  Van  Home,  of 
course. 

Captain  Goring  looked  up,  returned  the  salute, 
and  said: 

"'Lo,  Chuck!" 

Then  indicating  Ralph,  who  had  risen  to  his  feet, 
he  went  on : 

"Shake  hands  with  Lieutenant  Storm,  Chuck! 
I  was  just  telling  him  that  you  were  in  command 
of  number  one  platoon,  and  that  as  he  will  have 
number  four,  you  know,  you  and  he  will  have  to 
pull  off  some  team  work  together. 

"  I'll  be  through  here  in  a  minute  or  two.  In  the 
meantime  you  two  can  be  getting  better  ac- 
quainted." 

The  captain  again  fixed  his  attention  on  the  work 
before  him,  and  then  Ralph  got  one  of  the  surprises 
of  his  young  life.  While  he  was  still  wondering 
whether  he  ought  to  offer  his  hand  first,  or  wait 
upon  the  other's  initiative,  Lieutenant  Barrows,  on, 
hearing  the  captain  pronounce  Ralph's  name,  had 
quickly  turned  toward  the  latter  with  an  expression 

208 


THE  SALIENT 

of  evident  pleasure  and  plain  admiration  in  his  keen 
eyes. 

He  took  a  step  forward,  extended  his  right  hand 
rather  diffidently  toward  Ralph  and  in  a  tone  of 
marked  respect,  such  as  one  employs  only  when 
addressing  a  recognized  superior,  began: 

"  I  am  proud  to  know  you,  sir.  We  were  all  glad 
when  we  learned  that  you  and  Lieutenant  Van 
Home  had  been  appointed  to  our  regiment.  You 
will  find  us  very  green,  sir;  but  good  learners,  I 
hope." 

"And  I  can  assure  you  that  I,  too,  am  right  glad 
to  be  with  you,  sir,"  responded  Ralph,  leaping  to 
grasp  the  other's  hand,  and  at  the  same  time  ex- 
periencing a  warm  glow  of  pleasure  at  finding  him- 
self thus  accepted  on  terms  of  more  than  equality 
by  these  two  erstwhile  heroes  in  his  eyes. 

"  Greener  than  '  Paddy  '  green !  "  contributed 
Captain  Goring,  who  had  caught  Lieutenant  Bar- 
rows' last  remark,  and  without  looking  up  from  the 
papers  before  him  added,  "  But,  as  Chuck  says,  not 
too  proud  to  learn.  Storm !  " 

Ralph  and  Lieutenant  Barrows  were  soon  en- 
grossed in  conversation,  and  the  former  had  al- 
ready been  well  initiated  into  the  whys  and  where- 
fores of  the  projected  raid,  ere  the  captain,  having 
at  last  dismissed  his  Q.  M.  S.,  interrupted  them. 

"  If  you  two  gentlemen  will  now  draw  up  your 

209 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  jiRMY 

chairs,  one  on  each  side  of  me,  we'll  get  together  on 
some  of  the  details  of  this  forthcoming  little  affair 
that's  going  to  liven  things  up  a  bit  for  us  and  our 
friend,  Fritz,  next  week. 

"  But  first,  perhaps,  it  will  be  just  as  well  if  we 
run  over  the  general  situation  again  for  the  benefit 
of  Lieutenant  Storm,"  the  captain  proceeded,  ad- 
dressing himself  to  Lieutenant  Barrows,  and  at  the 
same  time  spreading  and  smoothing  out  a  neatly 
executed  field  sketch  on  the  table  before  him. 

"  This,"  he  went  on, "  is  a  fairly  accurate  diagram 
of  our  fire-trench,  and  also  of  the  enemy's  bit  of 
front  line  right  opposite.  Support  and  reserve 
trenches,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  system  are  not 
shown  here,  because  not  necessary  for  our  immedi- 
ate purposes. 

"  From  this  chart  we  are  now  constructing  what 
you  might  call  a  full  size  skeleton  model  for  re- 
hearsal purposes — the  whole  company  are  working 
on  it  right  now — but  this  afternoon  you  will  be  able 
to  see  for  yourself  what  we  are  doing  in  that 
respect.'*' 

"  From  'A'  to  '  E '  is  our  section  of  the  front 
line,"  pursued  the  captain,  pointing  with  his  pen- 
handle  to  each  particular  point  on  the  chart  as  he 
mentioned  it. 

"  Note  this  almost  semicircular  reentrant  almost 
in  the  middle  of  it.     It  was  primarily  due  to  a  low, 

210 


THE  SALIENT 

soft  piece  of  ground  there  that  is  always  water 
soaked.  The  French  after  pushing  ahead  as  far 
as  they  could  on  either  side  of  it  evidently  joined  up 
the  break  in  the  line  by  ditching  around  it,  and  that 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  there  is  solid  ground  com- 


'c 

Diagram  showing  section  of  Fire-Trench  held  by  Colonel  Richards'  regi- 
ment, with  the  bend  in  the  line  which  they  straightened  out,  and  the 
salient  in  the  German  Fire-Trench  opposite  which  they  wiped  out. 

A,  B,  C,  D,  E~AlIied  line— front  trench. 

B,  C,  D — Bow  or  "  re-entrant "  into  allied  line.    Machine  guns  at  M. 

F,  G,  H,  I,  J — German  line. 

G,  H,  I — The  salient.     Machine  guns  at  M. 
R,  R — Road,  crossing  both  lines. 

paratively  from  '  B  '  to  *  D  '  just  beyond  the  hollow, 
and  nearly  in  line  with  the  straight  stretches  of 
trench  on  each  side  of  it." 

"  I  don't  see  why  they  didn't  join  them  up 
straight  across  from  '  B  '  to  '  D  '  in  the  first  place," 
observed  Lieutenant  Barrows. 

"  We  must  remember  that  the  French  originally 

211 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE   U.  S.  ARMT 

constructed  this  line  under  constant  heavy  shell  fire 
and  in  the  face  of  strong  counter-attacks,"  rejoined 
Captain  Goring. 

"  They  probably  considered  the  piece  of  marshy 
(ground  an  added  protection  for  the  trench  built 
around  it ;  but  whatever  their  reason  was,  there  the 
dent  in  the  line  still  remains." 

"  What  is  the  distance  across  it,  sir? "  asked 
Ralph. 

"  Erom  *  B  '  to '  D  '  is  something  more  than  three 
hmidred  yards,  and  the  bend  is  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  yards  deep. 

"  Now,  our  main  objective  is  to  straighten  out  the 
line  by  running  a  new  trench  almost  directly  across 
on  the  fairly  solid  groimd  from  '  B  '  to  *  D.'  " 

"  That  faint  line,  I  suppose,  represents  the  posi- 
tion of  the  proposed  new  piece  of  trench,"  observed 
Ralph;  "  but  what  are  the  dots  just  above  it  for?  " 

"  They  show  the  position  for  our  new  wire 
entanglements,"  replied  Captain  Goring,  and 
went  on: 

"  The  enemy  at  some  time  or  other  evidently 
pushed  out  a  sap  from  a  point  midway  between  *  G ' 
and  *  I '  on  their  line  to  the  point  *  H '  on  the  dia- 
gram. The  head  of  this  sap  they  then  succeeded 
in  joining  up  with  the  points  *  G '  and  '  I,'  thus 
creating  a  nasty  salient  right  opposite  the  depres- 
sion in  our  line. 

212 


THE  SALIENT 

"And  what  is  worse/'  pursued  the  captain,  "  at 
*  H '  they  have  now  established  a  strongly  con- 
creted machine-gun  emplacement  that  commands 
our  parapets  both  ways  with  an  oblique  fire.  You 
get  me?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,"  replied  Storm.     "And  I  can  plainly 


Rifle  Geenade—Often  Called  "  The  Pippin  " 

The  above  is  one  of  the  simplest  and  most  effective  type  of 
rifle  grenade  used  by  the  Allies.     On  exploding  it  has  an 
effective  and  deadly  radius  of  about  13  yards. 
A — Percussion-cap  Striker  that  sets  off  detonator,  "  B." 
B — Special  detonator  that  explodes  H.  E.  charge,  ''€." 
0 — Explosive  Ammonal  Charge  which  bursts  grenade  into 

small  pieces. 
D — Cast-iron  Body,  serrated. 

E — Steel  rod,  15  inches  long,  and  of  almost  the  same  di- 
ameter as  bore  of  rifle  from  which  it  is  fired. 


see  that  our  second  objective  must  be  to  wipe  out 
that  same  salient." 

"  Exactly,"  rejoined  Captain  Goring.     "  Other- 
wise it  would  be  of  little  avail  to  straighten  out  the 

213 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

line.  We  simply  must  smash  that  machine-gmi 
nest.  They  have  another  one  at  *  1/  and  wrecking 
that  will  also  be  a  detail  of  the  raid." 

"  Do  those  parallel  lines  intersecting  both  lines 
of  trenches  and  marked  '  R/  '  R '  represent  the 
road? "  queried  Ralph. 

**  Yes,  but  it  is  of  no  more  use  to  either  side  than 
No  Man's  Land.  The  enemy  artillery  and  snipers 
have  every  yard  of  it  spotted  clear  back  to  our  re- 
serve trenches.  They  pay  their  compliments  to  it 
every  once  in  a  while  at  any  old  time,  and  always 
vary  the  range. 

"  Our  guns,  you  may  be  sure,  are  returning  the 
favors  in  kind,  and  a  little  over  for  good  measure. 
We  have  a  particularly  lively  and  efficient  little 
battery  commander  back  there  near  the  road — at 
least  that's  where  he  was  earlier  this  morning;  but 
he  keeps  shifting  his  guns  about  up  and  down  the 
line  just  to  keep  Fritz  guessing." 

"  I  believe  I  saw  him  at  work  this  morning  when 
I  first  came  up  along  the  road,"  said  Ralph  with 
a  smile  at  the  pleasing  recollection.  "At  first  I 
could  scarcely  believe  that  it  was  a  battery  of  our 
own  guns.  They  worked  like  real  French  gunners 
themselves." 

"And  that's  certainly  handing  them  a  bouquet, 
all  right,"  smiled  Captain  Goring. 

"  But,  now  for  the  plan  of  operation,  and  more 

214 


THE  SALIENT 

particularly  that  part  of  it  for  which  you  and  Chuck 
must  be  responsible,"  he  continued. 

"  Just  one  minute,  sir,"  interposed  Ralph.  "  Tell 
me,  about  what  is  the  distance  between  the  trenches, 
please? " 

"  To  the  right  of  '  The  Devil's  Saucer  '—that's 
what  the  boys  call  the  soft  spot  there,  you  know, 
and  at  that  they  have  merely  translated  the  name 
the  French  had  for  it  before,  '  La  soucoupe  du 
diable ' — No  Man's  Land  narrows  down  to  within 
one  hundred  and  fifty  yards,  and  gradually  widens 
out  to  about  two  hundred  yards  on  our  extreme 
left. 

"  But  to-morrow  I  intend  sending  you  up  into 
the  front  line  to  look  things  over  for  yourself. 
Storm.  And  you  and  Barrows  will  have  to  do  one 
or  two  night  patrols  in  order  to  thoroughly  recon- 
noitre their  wire  before  the  show  comes  off. ' 

"  It  has  just  occurred  to  me.  Chuck,"  resumed 
their  Company  Commander  after  a  second's 
thoughtful  pause,  "  that  perhaps  it  would  be  a  good 
idea  for  you  to  have  Storm  with  you  when  you  go 
over  to  look  over  your  bit  of  it.  He's  had  experi- 
ence in  that  sort  of  thing  and  might  find  an  open- 
ing in  the  wire  where  you'd  pass  over  it.  What 
do  you  think?  " 

"Delighted!"  replied  Lieutenant  Barrows  with 
hearty  approval  of  his  captain's  suggestion. 

215 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

"And  I'd  like  to  go  with  you  when  you  take  your 
own  patrol  out  also,"  he  added,  turning  to  Lieu-^^ 
tenant  Storm. 

"All  right,"  acquiesced  Ralph  with  equal  hearti- 
ness, "  we'll  patrol  both  sections  together." 

"  You  can  get  together  then  over  those  details, 
and  settle  them  for  yourselves,"  said  Captain  Gor- 
ing, glancing  down  at  his  wrist  watch. 

"  It's  getting  on  toward  noon  '  chow '  and  I  want 
to  give  Storm  here  some  idea  of  the  *  Old  Man's ' 
scheme  as  a  whole,  before  mess  call  blows,  as  I  shall 
be  very  busy  all  this  afternoon. 

"  First  of  all,"  he  said,  again  turning  to  the  chart 
before  him  on  the  table,  *  B '  Company,  you  must 
know,  are  now  in  the  fire-trench.  '  C '  Com- 
pany will  take  over  from  them  in  due  course  on 
Monday,  and  will  still  be  there  when  the  show 
comes  off.  The  day  and  hour  I  cannot  tell  you  as 
yet. 

"  But  it  will  be  their  part  to  dig  the  new  ditch 
from  '  D '  to  *A,'  and  to  put  out  the  new  wire  in 
front  of  it.  They  will  continue  to  hold  the  front 
line,  too,  after  the  operation  has  been  completed, 
and  to  be  ready  in  the  event  of  a  counter-attack. 
But  we  don't  need  to  bother  about  that;  that's  their 
lookout. 

"  It  will  be  up  to  us  of  Company  *A'  to  make  it 
possible  for  *  C  to  carry  out  that  work;  or,  in  other 

216 


THE  SALIENT 

words,  we  are  to  be  the  storm  troops  of  the  occa- 
sion, to  raid  the  whole  section  of  enemy  trench  from 

*  F '  to  *  J,'  and  finally  to  capture  and  blow  up 
the  machine-gun  emplacement  at  *  H.'  Do  you 
follow  me?" 

"  Yes,  sir! "  they  answered  together. 
"  You,  Chuck,  with  number  one  platoon,  will 
have  that  part  of  the  enemy  trench  from  '  F '  to 

*  G '  to  look  after.  And,  Storm,  you  must  take 
care  in  a  similar  manner  of  the  section  *  I '  to  '  J  ' 
with  number  four  platoon. 

"  How  you  are  going  to  get  through  the  enemy 
wire  is  up  to  you  yourselves,  and  of  course  is  a  de- 
tail that  cannot  be  decided  upon  as  yet;  but  get 
through  and  into  the  trenches  you  must. 

"  Once  there  you.  Chuck,  will  throw  up  a  *  block'  * 
at  *  F,'  and  you.  Storm,  will  do  the  same 
at  '  J.' 

"At '  G '  and  *  I '  also  you  will  block  the  enemy's 
main  trench  back  of  the  salient.  After  that  you 
must  bomb  your  respective  ways  along  the  salient 
from  '  I '  to  '  H,'  and  from  *  G '  to  *  H,'  meeting 
and  joining  forces  at  the  apex  of  the  salient,  *  H.' 
You  both  get  me,  eh? " 

"  Yes,  sir,"  replied  Ralph. 

"  It's  very  simple,"  grinned  Chuck  Barrows. 

'Block:   Technical   term   for   sand-bag   obstruction   across   a 
Section  of  trench. 

217 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

"  It  sounds  so,"  smiled  Captain  Goring 
enigmatically. 

"And  what  will  numbers  two  and  three  platoons 
be  doing  all  the  time  that  we  are  enjoying  ourselves 
in  Fritz's  trenches,  sir? "  queried  Lieutenant  Bar- 
rows. 

"  They  will  quietly  take  post  in  No  Man's  Land 
between  our  proposed  new  piece  of  trench  and  the 
salient  opposite.  When  you  two  go  over  the  top 
number  three  platoon  will  file  out  from  *  B '  and 
number  two  from  *  D.'  They  will  meet  and 
form  a  silent  line  in  front  of  where  our  new  wire 
is  to  be  placed,  as  shown  by  the  string  of  dots 
here. 

"  Their  duty  will  be  to  cover  the  workers  in  case 
of  a  counter-attack,  and  also  to  cover  your  with- 
drawal after  you  have  completed  your  task.  Theirs 
I  consider  the  most  trying  job  of  all." 

"  So  do  I,"  agreed  Lieutenant  Barrows.  "  I 
should  never  fancy  that  quiet  waiting  business  out 
there  in  No  Man's  Land." 

"  Now  you  both  have  the  general  scheme,"  said 
Captain  Goring. 

"  The  details  of  our  several  parts  in  it  we  will 
rehearse  during  the  next  few  days  in  so  far  as  we 
can. 

"  We  are  not  constructing  any  practice  trenches, 
as  we  should  likely  do  if  we  were  farther  back  of  the 

218 


THE  SALIENT 

front  line,"  he  added,  again  turning  toward  Lieu- 
tenant Storm. 

"  We  must  be  careful  to  avoid  attracting  the  at- 
tention of  hostile  air  observers,  so  we  are  merely 
staking  out  the  outlines  of  our  own  and  the  enemy 
front-line  trenches.  In  this  way  every  man  may  at 
least  know  exactly  the  positions  he  is  to  take  up, 
and  have  some  idea  of  the  relative  distances. 

"  To-day,  as  I  have  already  told  you.  Storm,  we 
are  staking  out  those  positions.  We  have  a  detail 
also  at  work  making  portable  barb-wire  obstruc- 
tions of  the  *  saw-buck '  or  *  cylinder '  variety,  which 
it  will  be  our  duty  also  to  carry  up  as  far  as  the 
reserve  trenches  as  soon  as  we  have  them  con- 
structed. 

"And  as  we  will  not  particularly  need  you, 
Storm,  until  we  have  everything  ready  for  a  full- 
dress  rehearsal  I  think  you  had  better  go  up  the 
front  line  this  afternoon  and  prowl  around  there. 

"  I  have  no  doubt  that  after  you  have  sized  up  the 
actual  situation  there  you  will  be  able  to  make  some 
suggestions  of  value  to  us." 

Ralph  cast  a  furtive  glance  of  inquiry  across  at 
Lieutenant  Barrows. 

But  the  captain,  intercepting  it,  shook  his  head 
smilingly. 

"  No,"  he  said,  "  there's  no  need  for  ChucK  to  go 
up  with  you.     He  has  already  been  there,  and  be- 

219 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

sides  there  is  plenty  of  work  for  him  to  do  right 
here  to-day. 

"  I'll  arrange  with  the  adjutant  to  have  a 
'  runner '  meet  you  up  at  the  Regimental  P.  C,  who 
will  show  you  the  way  up  front.  You  will  please 
meet  him  there  not  later  than  2  p.  m.^  Lieutenant 
Storm,"  said  the  captain,  rising. 

"And  now  we'll  just  have  time  to  wash  up  before 
*  chow,'  "  he  concluded. 


220 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  WIGGLER 

*'  *  Untrained  Americans,*  they  jeered; 
But  where  the  red  flame  lights  the  sky 
The  rolling  thunder  down  our  lines 
Must  he  the  sum  of  our  reply, 

**  *  Untrained  Americans'  will  find 
No  counter  taunt  from  us,  except 
The  bark  of  rifles  down  the  field- — 
The  bloody  sods  our  guns  have  swept." 

At  two  o'clock  sharp  that  same  afternoon  Lieu- 
tenant Storm,  accoutred  in  full  fighting  kit — since 
no  man  can  foretell  what  may  happen  in  a  front- 
line trench — consisting  of  belt,  revolver  and  its 
"  ammo,"  compass,  field-glasses,  two  water-bottles, 
helmet,  gas-mask,  iron  rations,  and  rubber  ground 
sheet,  reported  at  the  Regimental  P.  C.  a  mile  or 
so  further  up  the  line. 

Not  far  from  the  dugout  entrance  to  the  cellar 
in  which  the  Post  of  Command  was  located,  scuf- 
fling in  rough  horse-play  or  gossiping  with  much 
noisy  laughter,  was  a  group  of  very  young  and  very 
active  soldiers  whom  Ralph  recognized  by  their 
light  accoutrements  white  with  dust,  and  the  fact 
that  they  were  thus  apparently  idling  unmolested 

221 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

in  the  near  vicinity  of  Headquarters,  to  be  of  those 
wonderful  picked  fellows  who,  when  an  action 
starts  and  other  soldiers  seek  the  shelter  of  their 
dugouts,  merely  tighten  up  their  belts  another  hole, 
hitch  their  mask-bags  up  to  the  "  ready,"  pull  down 
their  "  tin  hats  "  a  little  further  forward  over  their 
eyes,  and  start  out  with  messages  that  cannot  be 
held  back  even  though  the  bearer  must  twice  pass 
right  through  the  barrage  of  death,  once  going,  and 
again  returning  with  the  answer. 

He  knew  them  to  be  "  runners,"  those  nerves  of 
the  army,  without  whom  whole  divisions  would  dis- 
joint and  clash,  without  whom  disciplined  battalions 
would  disintegrate  into  senseless  mobs. 

In  a  class  all  by  themselves,  like  scouts  and 
snipers,  they  are  picked  for  their  agility,  activity, 
quick  intelligence,  and  sheer  intrepidity.  When 
all  other  means  of  communication — wireless,  field 
telephones,  rockets  and  other  signals — fail,  the 
"  runner  "  still  must,  and  does,  deliver  the  goods. 
Sometimes  he  is  mounted,  then  again  he  rides  a 
motor-cycle,  but  more  often,  closer  up  the  line,  he 
must  depend  solely  upon  his  own  two  sinewy  legs. 

The  loss  of  one  "  runner  "  at  a  critical  moment  of 
an  advance  has  meant  on  more  than  one  occasion 
the  useless  sacrifice  of  a  thousand  lives.  They  must 
therefore  always  be  "hand-picked";  and  so,  al- 
though ever  noticeable  for  the  playful  exuberance 

222 


THE  WIGGLER 

of  their  youthful  high  spirits  when  off  duty,  they 
nevertheless  form  a  "  corps  elite." 

Captain  Goring  had  evidently  already  been  in 
communication  with  the  adjutant,  for  the  latter 
immediately  upon  Ralph's  appearance  within  the 
dugout,  after  punctiliously  returning  the  latter's 
salute  of  course,  turned  to  the  R.  S.  M.,  who  hap- 
pened to  be  present  at  the  time,  with  the  terse 
command : 

"  Detail  a  runner  at  once  to  show  Lieutenant 
Storm  up  the  line,  Sergeant-Major  Brooks !  " 

"  Very  good,  sir! "  replied  the  R.  S.  M.,  spring- 
ing smartly  to  attention,  saluting,  and  facing  about 
in  three  distinct  movements,  yet  all  in  one  and  the 
same  instant  of  time. 

"  Drop  in  on  your  way  back.  Storm!  "  called  the 
adjutant  as  Ralph,  too,  saluted  and  turned  away. 

The  Regimental  Sergeant-Major  was  a  little  in 
advance  of  Lieutenant  Storm,  and  the  latter  did  not 
distinctly  catch  the  name  that  he  called  aloud  imme- 
diately on  emerging  from  the  ruined  cellar.  Ralph 
was  followed  closely  enough  upon  the  sergeant- 
major's  heels,  however,  to  observe  one  of  two 
youngsters,  who  at  the  moment  were  performing  a 
sort  of  bear-dance  to  the  jig-time  music  produced 
with  no  mean  skill  by  a  third  on  a  mouth-organ, 
hastily  disengage  himself  from  his  partner's  em- 
brace and  jump  to  attention. 

223 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

"  You  will  take  this  officer  up  the  line  now,  and 
bring  him  back  again  when  he  is  ready! "  ordered 
R.  S.  M.  Brooks  with  the  shadow  of  a  smile  flicker- 
ing about  his  keen  gray  eyes,  although  his  firmly 
chiseled  lips  relaxed  not  at  all. 

"All  right,  sir! "  chirped  the  boy  in  a  clear  treble, 
and  somewhat  startled  tone. 

"  Thank  you,  Sergeant-Major!  "  said  Lieutenant 
Storm,  returning  the  senior  N.  C.  O.'s  parting 
salute. 

And  as  Ralph  again  turned  his  eyes  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  young  soldier  who  was  to  be  his  guide 
he  could  not  help  remarking  that  the  boy  had  al- 
ready pulled  his  grass-green  steel  helmet  so  far 
down  over  his  nose  that  his  eyes  were  quite  hidden 
from  view. 

That  peculiar  fashion  of  wearing  his  head-gear 
excited  no  undue  surprise  at  the  moment,  how- 
ever, to  one  of  Ralph's  veteran  experience.  He 
well  knew  that  a  soldier  up  front  quickly  acquired 
the  habit  of  wearing  his  tin  hat  that  way.  And 
any  one  who  has  ever  done  sentinel  duty  on  a  fire- 
step,  or  who  for  any  other  reason  has  had  frequent 
occasion  to  squint  over  the  lip  of  a  parapet,  knows 
how  that  habit  is  formed. 

The  lad  saluted  snappily,  and  inquired: 

"  Shall  I  go  in  advance,  sir? " 

"  Yes,"  smiled  Ralph ;  "  lead  on! " 

224 


THE  WIGGLER 

The  boy  had  ah-eady  turned,  and  without  further 
parley  he  started  for  the  road.  From  the  first  the 
going  was  rough,  no  two  cobblestones  seeming  to 
have  the  same  level.  Just  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
ruined  village  it  was  like  crossing  a  dry  brook  on 
stepping-stones,  to  make  their  way  along  it. 

The  necessity  of  constantly  picking  their  steps 
precluded  any  continuity  of  conversation.  Yet 
Ralph  was  eager  for  the  information  which  he  knew 
his  youthful  guide  must  be  the  possessor  of  in  his 
capacity  as  a  "  runner,"  who  went  everywhere  and 
saw  a  bit  of  everything  that  was  going  on. 

During  the  first  half  mile,  as  they  plugged  along 
over  the  abominable  pave,  he  asked  many  questions, 
to  which  the  young  soldier  made  answers  tersely, 
even  confining  himself  to  monosyllables  when  the 
proper  answer  permitted;  always  deferentially  as 
befitted  a  private  soldier  when  replying  to  the 
queries  of  an  officer;  yet  without  ever  turning  his 
face  toward  his  inquisitor. 

Once  Lieutenant  Storm  paused  to  look  upward, 
then  backward,  and  then  forward  again.  His 
guide  halted  too  on  hearing  the  footsteps  behind 
him  cease  to  slip  and  slither  over  the  uneven  cobbles. 
Yet  even  then  the  boy  persisted  in  looking  to  his 
front. 

When  he  glanced  overhead,  Ralph  saw  naught 
but  the  blue  sky  above  him.     Behind  him  he  ob- 

225 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S,  ARMT 

served,  showing  high  above  the  horizon,  several  cap- 
tive American  balloons  in  a  row,  strange  small 
shapes  like  half -curled  maggots  suspended  away 
up  in  the  air.  Ahead,  far  ahead,  were  three  air 
craft,  moving  about  and  about  in  small  circles  like 
tiny  birds. 

"  I  suppose  those  are  our  planes  ahead  of  us? " 
queried  Ralph  as  he  started  forward  again. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  answered  the  guide,  stepping  out  at 
the  same  time,  and  always  maintaining  his  respect- 
ful distance  in  advance. 

The  road  became  worse  and  worse.  Several 
times  they  had  to  skirt  huge  wide  holes  scooped  out 
by  "  Jack  Johnsons,"  and  some  deeper,  narrower 
ones,  also  dug  there  by  "  Little  Willies." 

They  passed  some  sorrowful  little  graves,  too,  in 
rows,  each  with  its  pathetic  little  white  cross  of 
wood  roughly  fashioned  by  a  comrade's  hand. 

Then  they  left  the  road  altogether,  and  began  to 
make  their  way  over  and  through  the  but  half- 
healed  scars  of  the  desolated  fields.  Far  off  to  their 
left  front  they  could  hear  the  muffled  boom  of  heavy 
guns,  and  in  the  middle  distance  now  and  then  off  in 
the  same  direction  a  sudden  haystack-like  block  of 
black  smoke  showed  them  where  a  stray  German 
"  H.  E."  had  found  a  useless  billet. 

For  a  half-mile  or  more  the  young  officer  and  his 
still  more  youthful  guide  trudged  on  after  leaving 

226 


THE  WIGGLER 

the  road — that  is  to  say,  a  half-mile  as  the  crow 
flies,  but  more  than  double  that  distance  if  the  ups 
and  downs  and  the  deviations  from  a  straight  course 
caused  by  the  innumerable  shell-holes  and  mine 
craters  had  been  taken  into  consideration. 

Even  Lieutenant  Storm  wondered  how  the 
runner  was  able  to  find  his  way  with  such  assurance, 
for  the  latter  plodded  steadily  on  without  hesitation 
and  seemingly  without  any  bearings  whatever. 
Then,  when  the  horizon  in  all  directions  had  begun 
to  look  alike  to  Ralph,  the  boy  commenced  to 
descend  the  sloping  side  of  an  old  "  crater,"  greater 
in  diameter  than  any  they  had  yet  come  across. 

Its  bowl-shaped  sides  were  grass  and  weed  over- 
grown; for  more  than  two  years  Nature  had  been 
vainly  trying  to  cover  over  the  scars  of  old  Mother 
Earth  there. 

On  the  far  side  of  the  great  bowl  a  newer  wound 
had  been  man-made,  and  Ralph  recognized  it  at 
once  as  the  entrance  to  a  communication  trench,  and 
knew  that  they  were  getting  well  up  to  the  "  line." 

The  bottom  of  the  bowl  was  filled  with  slimy, 
stagnant  water,  and  from  his  past  experience  the 
young  officer  could  form  some  idea  as  to  what  the 
trench  bottom  itself  would  be  like,  even  before  he 
actually  entered  it.  He  had  had  the  foresight, 
however,  to  don  his  high  water-proofed  trench 
boots  before  setting  out  from  his  billet.     Runners 

227 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

despised  such  heavy  impedifnenta  to  rapid  locomo- 
tion; they  were  wont  to  consider  the  ordinary  ankle- 
boots  and  spiral  woolen  puttees  good  enough  at  all 
times. 

The  pair  skirted  the  slushy  green  bottom  of  the 
crater  and  turned  into  the  fresh  cutting  in  its  side. 
Down  a  steep  slope  they  ran  with  slipping  steps  for 
about  ten  yards,  propping  themselves  up  with  their 
hands  against  the  mud  sides  of  the  narrow  cutting, 
as  they  slithered  down  it  to  the  level  muddy  bottom 
of  the  communication  trench  proper.  Even 
Ralph's  head  was  then  a  good  two  feet  under  cover 
from  view. 

It  was  nothing  more  than  a  neat  crack  in  the 
earth,  with  a  sharp  corner  every  few  zigzagging 
yards.  The  mud  became  deeper  and  thinner  the 
farther  they  went.  Here  and  there  was  a  hidden 
length  of  duck-board,  to  be  sure;  but  that  only  made 
the  going  worse. 

Now,  a  length  of  duck-board  is  made  by  laying 
a  pair  of  six  or  eight  foot  lengths  of  scantling  side 
by  side  about  eighteen  inches  apart,  and  then  nail- 
ing across  them  ladder-wise  narrow  strips  of  board 
with  an  interval  of  two  or  three  inches  between 
strips. 

These  gratings  make  the  finest  of  trench  flooring 
provided  they  are  laid  end  to  end  consecutively 
without  any  gaps  between  the  successive  lengths, 

228 


THE  WIGGLER 

and  especially  so  if  they  rest  on  trestles  driven  deep 
down  into  the  mud  bottom  of  the  trench. 

But,  for  good  and  sufficient  reasons,  unhappily 

they    are    never    found    thus    in    communication 

trenches  that  have  been  in  use  for  any  length  of 

A 


CSlvss-sectiou  of  a  trench,  showing  : 

A — Parapet  built  up  with  sand -bags.  D — Solid  earth. 

B — Parados  built  up  with  sand -bags.  E — Fire-step, 

C — Loose  earth.  H — Duck-boards. 

time.  Firewood  is  a  scarce  and  highly  prized  com- 
modity up  in  the  "  line,"  and  for  a  brief  space  the 
duck-walks  of  the  zigzag  communicating  trenches 
afford  the  nearest  source  of  supply.  To  tamper 
with  them  is  strictly  against  orders,  of  course;  but 
the  nights  are  very  dark  back  there  in  those  narrow 
ditches.  Then,  too,  the  sergeant  likes  to  have  his 
own  coffee  hot,  and  is  not  over-apt  to  ask  awkward 
questions  as  to  how  it  was  heated. 

And  so  it  was  that,  going  up,  Ralph  and  his 
guide  found  those  doubly  useful  contrivances  be- 

229 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

neath  their  feet  only  occasionally.  Even  then  so 
deeply  down  were  they  hidden  beneath  the  slushy 
ooze  that  they  made  their  presence  known  only 
when  one  or  the  other  of  the  boys  suddenly  tripped 
over  them,  and  precariously  saved  himself  from  an 
inglorious  mud  bath  by  clutching  wildly  for  sup- 
port at  the  clammy  clay  walls  that  rose  squarely 
up  on  either  side. 

There  is  always  mud  in  the  up-going  trenches. 
So  narrow  are  they  and  so  deep  that  the  sun  never 
has  a  chance  to  shine  directly  down  into  them  long 
enough  to  dry  them  up  from  rain-fall  to  rain-fall, 
and  no  pumps  are  ever  used  back  there,  as  they 
constantly  are  in  the  "  line  "  trenches.  The  sides 
and  tops  are  always  caving  or  falling  in,  for  usually 
the  one  is  not  wattled  nor  the  other  sand-bagged,  as 
in  the  fire-trenches. 

Doughboys  ploughing  their  way  up  and  down 
day  and  night  make  the  mash  mashier.  Whizz- 
bangs  and  H.  E.'s,  descending  from  on  high,  churn 
up  and  mix  the  dough  till  it  becomes  porridge.  The 
result  is  the  mud  that  the  trench  poet  sang  about  at 
the  beginning  of  chapter  thirteen. 

For  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  two  had 
been  silently  and  arduously  ploughing  through  that 
muck.  Already  they  had  branched  off  from  the 
original  ditch  into  another  one  of  the  same  ilk. 
Ralph,  as  eveiy  one  does  when  for  the  first  time 

230 


THE  WIGGLER 

making  the  acquaintance  of  a  new  trench  system^ 
had  completely  lost  all  sense  of  direction. 

There  was  apparently  nothing  to  guide  one  there. 
Beneath  and  on  all  sides  there  was  naught  but  mud. 
Above  there  was  only  the  narrow  streak  of  blue 
sky.  No  wonder  Ralph  admired  the  unhesitating 
assurance  with  which  the  runner  turned  aside  from 
the  crack  they  had  first  been  following,  just  as  if 
he  had  merely  been  turning  about  a  street  corner 
and  knew  exactly  where  he  was  going. 

All  at  once  the  latter  stepped  upon  the  end  of  a 
totally  submerged  duck-board,  the  middle  of  which 
must  have  been  resting  teter-like  on  some  rock  or 
hidden  hump  of  solid  soil.  The  end  he  stepped 
upon  went  down  with  a  sudden  squash,  and  the 
other  end  quite  as  unexpectedly  came  up  with  a 
sudden  splash  that  showered  the  mud  backward 
over  both  of  them. 

Lieutenant  Storm  was  at  the  moment  following 
close  upon  the  heels  of  his  young  guide.  The 
runner's  feet  slipped  from  under  him  on  the  greasy 
boards.  He  threw  up  his  arms,  floundered  crazily 
about  for  a  second,  and  then  in  a  final  desperate 
effort  to  save  himself  from  falling  flat,  threw  his 
arms  wildly  about  Ralph's  waist,  ejaculating  in- 
voluntarily as  he  did  so: 

**  Hold  'em,  Dale!    Hold  'em,  Dale! " 

The  words  were  uttered  under  the  youngster's 

231 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S,  ARMT 

breath ;  yet  Storm  heard  them  distinctly ;  and  hear- 
ing, could  scarcely  believe  his  own  ears. 

Many  a  time  and  often  in  the  past — the  past  that 
now  seemed  so  long  ago — ^he  had  heard  those  self- 
same words.  It  was  the  old  school  yell  that  the 
rooters  of  Dale  Academy  were  wont  to  chant  from 
the  bleachers  when  the  Dale  goal  seemed  in  peril. 
It  was  the  last  desperate  resort  call  to  the  gridiron 
warriors  of  his  old  school  to  put  forth  their  mighti- 
est efforts.  It  had  also  become  a  byword  among 
the  juniors,  addressed  to  themselves  by  themselves 
sotto-voce,  when  any  one  of  them  wished  to  en- 
courage himself  to  "  hang-on,"  no  matter  what  the 
immediate  occasion  for  redoubled  effort  might  be. 

No  wonder  Ralph  Storm  was  astonished  to  hear 
it  once  again  away  down  in  that  reeking  ditch  in 
the  historic  land  of  Jeanne  d'Arc.  He  seized  the 
youngster  by  the  shoulders,  jerked  him  to  his  feet, 
and  still  holding  him  by  one  shoulder,  with  his  free 
hand  he  tilted  back  the  boy's  "  tin  hat "  so  that  he 
could  have  a  good  square  look  at  his  face. 

From  the  lean,  boyish,  mud-spattered  counte- 
nance a  pair  of  little  twinkling  gray  eyes  smiled 
quizzically,  half-doubtingly  up  into  Storm's,  and 
the  runner's  lips  parted  slightly  in  a  queer  little 
smile. 

"  Matson !  Wiggler,  you  young  scamp !  "  ejacu- 
lated Ralph  wonderingly. 

232 


THE  WIGGLER 

"Yes,  Storm! 

"  I  mean,  '  sir,'  "  he  corrected  himself,  immedi- 
ately remembering  the  other's  superior  rank  as  a 
commissioned  officer,  and  making  a  funny  effort 
to  salute  while  Ralph  still  held  him  by  the  shoulder 
with  one  hand,  and  was  tilting  back  his  steel  helmet 
with  the  other. 

But  Storm  intercepted  Wiggler's  hand  even  as 
the  latter  raised  it  in  the  act  of  saluting,  and  crush- 
ing it  warmly  in  his  own  strong  grasp,  demanded: 

"Why  didn't  you  let  me  know?  Why  didn't 
you  speak  to  me,  eh?  " 

And  then  remembering  the  letters  that  he  and 
Lieutenant  Van  Home  had  received  from  the 
principal  of  Dale  Academy  but  a  few  days  before, 
and  the  references  made  therein  to  this  same 
precocious  youth,  he  went  on  with  a  smile  of  com- 
plete understanding: 

"  But  I  guess  I  know  why,  without  your  telling 
me.  You  were  afraid  I'd  squeal  on  you,  you  young 
scamp." 

"  I  didn't  put  it  exactly  that  way.  Storm — I 
mean,  *  sir.' " 

"  Never  mind  the  *  sir,'  Wiggler;  that  is  to  say 
when  we  are  alone,  of  course,"  interrupted  Lieu- 
tenant Storm. 

"  Yes,  sir — I  mean,  *  Storm,'  "  replied  Wiggler, 
this  time  correcting  himself  with  a  grin. 

233 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U,  S.  ARMT 

"  But,  honest,  I  have  always  been  afraid  that  my 
brothers  would  find  out  where  I  am,  and  take  me 
out  of  the  army.  And  this  is  the  life  after  all,  isn't 
it.  Storm? 

"  But  you'll  not  let  them  know  where  I  am,  like 
a  good  fellow,  will  you  not,  Storm?  " 

"  Why,  you're  all  right,  kid.  You  needn't 
worry,"  answered  Ralph,  and  standing  right  there 
in  the  middle  of  the  communication  trench  and 
sinking  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  ooze  as  they 
stood,  he  gladdened  Wiggler's  heart  by  informing 
him  of  the  contents  of  Doctor  Wilde's  letter,  and 
by  telling  him  that  his  older  brothers  would  not 
interfere  with  his  remaining  in  the  army,  if  he 
would  only  write  to  them  and  keep  them  informed 
as  to  his  whereabouts  from  time  to  time. 

"And  you  must,  Wiggler,  and  right  away,  as 
soon  as  you  can!  And  that's  an  order!  You  get 
me,  eh?  "  concluded  the  lieutenant. 

"  You  bet  I  will,  Storm;  and  only  too  glad  to! " 
replied  the  lad. 

"  I  often  wanted  to  write  home,  especially  when 
I  saw  the  other  fellows  getting  letters,  and  when 
it  fell  my  turn  to  fetch  up  the  mail  myself.  We 
runners  have  to  do  that  sometimes,  you  know.  I 
seemed  to  be  the  only  one  who  never  got  a  letter 
from  home,  and  you  bet  it  made  me  feel  pretty 
lonesome  and  homesick  sometimes." 

234 


THE  WIGGLER 

"  That's  all  right  then,"  said  Ralph,  affection- 
ately patting  the  boy's  shoulder  while  he  straight- 
ened up  the  "  tin  hat  "  on  his  head. 

"  I'll  write  to  the  good  old  '  Doc '  too,  and  to 
some  of  the  fellows  at  the  old  school.  lYou  can  just 
bet  your  identification  tag  on  that,  sir,"  asserted 
Wiggler  enthusiastically. 

Storm  could  not  help  smiling  in  sympathy  with 
the  lad's  evident  great  pleasure,  and  then  Wiggler 
queried: 

"  Where's  Big  Van?  You  know  I  have  to  hang 
about  the  P.  C.  a  good  deal,  and  I  overheard  the 
*Adj  '  say  that  he  was  coming  with  you.  I  was 
scared  half  to  death  when  I  first  heard  that  you  two 
were  to  join  our  outfit;  but  I  was  mighty  glad,  too. 
Storm." 

"  Van  will  join  us  before  long,  I  hope,"  answered 
Storm. 

"  He  was  sent  down  to  one  of  the  training  camps 
as  an  instructor  for  a  while.  But  the  C.  O.  has 
written  to  H.  Q.  asking  that  he  be  sent  on  here 
right  away. 

"  But  if  we  stand  here  much  longer  we'll  be  up 
to  our  knees,  so  we'd  better  be  getting  on,  Wiggler. 
You  can  come  down  to  my  billet  whenever  you  are 
off  duty,  and  we'll  have  a  good  old  *  chew '  to- 
gether. 

"  How  much  farther  have  we  to  go  before  reach- 

235 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  5.  ^RMT 

iug  the  Company  P.  C.  up  the  line?  "  he  demanded 
as  he  pulled  one  foot  up  out  of  the  mud  with  a  suck- 
ing, squshy  noise,  preparatory  to  stepping  out. 

"  We  will  be  up  to  the  support  trench  in  about 
ten  minutes  more  now,"  replied  Wiggler,  care- 
fully feeling  with  one  foot  for  the  end  of  the  treach- 
erous duck-board  over  which  he  had  just  stumbled. 

"  The  Company  P.  C.  is  just  around  the  corner 
as  you  leave  this  ditch  we  are  in  now,"  he  added 
cheerfully  as  he  again  began  to  splash  his  way  along 
the  muddy  bottom. 


236 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  LISTENING  POST 

''WeVe  hack  again  to  trenches  and  to  Huns, 
To  snipers,  mortars,  mines,  and  hand  grenades, 
To  working  half  the  night  with  picks  and  spades; 
From  dawn  to  dusk  they  hang  those  heastly  guns; 
We're  hack  again.'* 

The  runner's  "ten  minutes  further  to  go"  turned 
out  to  be  nearer  twenty  ere  they  at  length  reached 
the  support  trench.  And  when  they  did  reach  it,  it 
seemed  at  first  glance  to  be  as  lonesome  as  a  grave 
untenanted;  but  this  state  of  affairs  surprised 
neither  Lieutenant  Storm  nor  his  guide.  They  well 
knew  that  the  soldiers  resting  there  would  be  for  the 
most  part  sleeping  in  their  dugouts  before  again 
taking  their  turn  in  the  fire-trench. 

Wiggler,  leading,  turned  to  the  right  after  leav- 
ing the  communication  trench  and  rounded  a 
massively  squared  traverse.  Opposite  a  square 
hole  in  the  wall  of  the  parados,  framed  in  roughly 
hewn  timbers,  from  the  top  one  of  which  hung  a 
curtain  of  heavy  cloth  matting,  then  pinned  in  a 
fold  to  one  side  by  a  rusty  bayonet — a  German 
weapon  at  that,  Ralph  noted — driven  through  it 

237 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

and  into  one  of  the  supporting  side  joists,  the 
runner  halted,  saluted  smartly,  and  pointing  to  the 
hole,  volunteered  the  information: 

"There  it  is,  sir!" 

"Good!  Wait  here,  Wiggler!"  ordered  Lieu- 
tenant Storm  briefly,  and  forthwith  dived  do^vn 
three  low,  flat  steps  into  the  Company  P.  C. ;  other- 
wise the  captain's  dugout. 

In  pushing  the  matting  further  to  one  side  Ralph 
noticed  that  it  was  quite  dry.  It  should  have  been 
wet  to  have  been  of  any  avail  as  a  protection  against 
gas,  the  sole  reason  for  its  being  there  at  all. 

Storm  mentally  agreed  with  the  remark  that 
Colonel  Richards  had  made  to  the  adjutant  in  his 
hearing  that  morning  regarding  the  regiment's 
urgent  need  of  the  services  of  an  experienced  "  gas- 
officer,"  one  of  whose  duties  would  be  to  see  that  all 
such  protective  curtains  were  kept  always  in  a  moist 
condition. 

The  ceiling  of  the  dugout  was  heavily  rough- 
beamed,  and  so  low  that  Ralph  had  to  stoop  both 
head  and  shoulders  uncomfortably  and  to  keep 
them  so.  On  the  left  hand  side  as  you  entered  was 
a  small  table,  and  built  up  against  the  opposite 
side  were  two  narrow  board  bunks,  one  above  the 
other.  There  was  just  enough  room  for  a  man  to 
pass  between  the  side  of  the  table  and  the  sides  of 
the  bunks. 

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THE  LISTENING  POST 

Captain  Forbes  of  "  B  "  Company  was  sitting  at 
one  end  of  the  table,  and  facing  the  entrance  so 
that  the  light  might  fall  on  the  papers  before  him. 
The  combination  receiver  and  transmitter  of  a  field 
telephone  lay  on  the  table  at  his  elbow. 

On  the  lower  bunk,  outstretched  upon  his  back, 
a  lieutenant  fully  dressed  lay  peacefully  sleeping; 
one  hand  and  one  foot  dangled  over  the  side  of  the 
narrow  pallet.  A  great  gray  rat  that  had  been 
sitting  up  on  its  haunches  and  sniffling  curiously 
with  wiggling  nose  at  the  dangling  boot  scurried 
under  the  bed  at  Storm's  disturbing  entry;  but  it 
impudently  crept  out  again  almost  immediately  to 
resume  its  interested  inspection  of  the  sleeper's 
foot. 

At  Ralph's  entrance  Captain  Forbes  looked  up 
from  his  work  quietly  and  without  the  least  indica- 
tion of  surprise  in  his  glance,  for  he  never  knew  who 
or  what  might  drop  in  upon  him  at  any  time. 

In  a  low  tone,  out  of  deference  to  the  sleeper, 
Ralph  briefly  introduced  himself  and  explahied  his 
mission  there. 

Captain  Forbes  came  around  the  table  and 
grasped  his  hand,  saying  in  equally  low  accents: 

"  I  am  glad  to  meet  you,"  and  then  with  an  ex- 
planatory glance  toward  the  resting  officer  on  the 
bunk: 

"  Let  us  step  outside.    Moran  there  was  out  on 

239 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMr 

patrol  last  night,  and  goes  on  duty  again  to-night  at 
*  stand-to.' " 

Outside  the  captain  returned  Wiggler's  salute 
with  a  smile  of  recognition.  It  was  evidently  not 
the  first  time  that  he  had  seen  the  youngster,  and 
for  some  reason  the  latter  flushed  and  cast  down  his 
eyes  under  that  officer's  humorous  glance  in  his 
direction. 

The  captain  and  Ralph  conversed  animatedly 
for  some  few  minutes.  The  former  was  eager  to 
hear  news  of  the  outside  world  at  first  hand;  and 
Ralph  was  equally  eager  for  information  regarding 
the  enemy's  latest  doings  in  that  sector.  Captain 
Forbes  was  able  to  inform  him  that,  judging  from 
the  reports  of  last  night's  patrol,  and  still  later  re- 
ports from  flight  observers,  the  enemy  opposite 
them  was  just  then  contemplating  no  new  offensive 
operations,  nor  expecting  any.  No  undue  activity 
had  been  observed  among  them. 

"  Lieutenant  O'Brien  is  just  now  in  command 
of  the  platoon  on  duty  in  that  part  of  our  trench 
that  will  be  of  particular  interest  to  you,  from  what 
you  have  just  told  me,  Storm,"  said  Captain  Forbes 
finally. 

"  You  will  find  him  either  in  his  dugout  or  up  the 
line.  I  will  join  you  up  there  presently,  after  I 
have  finished  the  work  I  was  doing  when  you  came 
along  just  now." 

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THE  LISTENING  POST 

Then  glancing  again  at  Wiggier  he  said,  "  I  see 
you  have  Runner  Matson  with  you.  He  knows 
the  way." 

Of  Wiggier  himself  he  demanded,  "  You  know 
where  Lieutenant  O'Brien's  dugout  is.  Mat- 
son?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,"  replied  Wiggier  solemnly;  "  it's  num- 
ber three,  Hogan's  Alley." 

"  I  thought  he  would  know,"  said  Captain  Forbes 
to  Ralph  with  a  dry  smile,  and  he  added  enigmatic- 
ally: 

"And  I  have  no  doubt  that  he  will  be  able  to 
give  you  some  original  information  concerning  No 
Man's  Land  too,  if  you  ask  him." 

Whereat  Wiggier  again  flushed  guiltily  and  cast 
his  eyes  downward,  as  if  suddenly  finding  some- 
thing of  great  interest  in  his  muddy  boots  that  he 
had  never  seen  there  before. 

When  the  captain  had  left  them  and  they  were 
once  more  proceeding  along  the  support  trench  to- 
ward the  narrow  cutting,  known  as  "  Hogan's 
Alley,"  which  connected  that  part  of  the  support 
trench  with  the  fire-trench,  Ralph  demanded  of  his 
young  guide: 

"  "What  did  Captain  Forbes  mean  by  that  last 
remark  of  his  about  No  Man's  Land,  Wiggier? " 

"  Well,  you  see,  sir "  the  boy  began,  a  mis- 
chievous glint  in  his  little  gray  eyes,  as  he  threw  a 

241 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S,  ARMT 

backward  glance  over  his  shoulder  at  his  inter- 
rogator. 

But  Ralph  interrupted  him,  shaking  his  head 
f rowningly  in  disapproval,  and  once  more  Wiggler 
hastily  corrected  himself. 

" '  Storm,'  I  mean,"  and  then  went  on  with  his 
story. 

"  The  other  night  I  happened  to  be  up  the  line 
when  a  patrol  was  crawling  out  over  the  top,  and  I 
just  tagged  on  after  them.  I  didn't  mean  to  dp 
anything  wrong,  you  know.  I  never  once  thought 
I  was  really  going  against  orders,  for  I'd  never 
been  actually  told  not  to  go,  you  know. 

**  Besides,  you  know.  Storm,  we  runners  never 
would  get  a  chance  to  see  for  ourselves  what 
*  patrol '  was  like  unless  we  took  a  chance  like 
that  sometimes.  Others  of  the  fellows  had  done  it, 
and  so  I  simply  couldn't  resist,  and  I  went." 

"  Now,  Wiggler,  that's  mere  sophistry  on  your 
part,"  interrupted  Lieutenant  Storm  sternly,  as 
befitted  an  officer  under  such  circumstances. 

"  You  knew  very  well  that  you  had  no  business 
there.  Even  if  you  were  not  actually  disobeying 
orders,  you  were  certainly  guilty  of  an  act  that  was 
not  *  conducive  to  good  order  and  military  dis- 
cipline.' 

"And  that's  just  the  trouble  with  too  many  of 
our  fellows.     They  don't  seem  to  realize  the  abso- 

242 


THE  LISTENING  POST 

lute  necessity  in  the  army  of  instantaneous,  un- 
questioning and  automatic  obedience  in  all  things, 
the  little  as  well  as  the  great ;  obedience  to  the  spirit 
as  well  as  to  the  letter  of  orders." 

Ralph  was  quoting  verbatim  from  one  of  his  own 
former  sergeant-instructors ;  but  Wiggler  of  course 
didn't  know  that. 

At  the  lieutenant's  first  admonishing  words  he 
had  turned  his  head  quickly  "  eyes-front "  again, 
and  relapsed  into  stony  silence ;  but  had  Storm  been 
able  to  view  his  face  he  would  not  have  observed 
much  evidence  of  repentance  there. 

"  I  sincerely  hope  that  I  shall  never  have  to 
speak  to  you  again  in  this  way,  Wiggler,"  gravely 
Ralph  concluded  his  homily. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  replied  Wiggler,  feeling  that  some 
answer  was  due ;  he  knew  not  exactly  what. 

They  proceeded  a  few  steps  in  silence,  which 
Ralph  eventually  broke  by  demanding: 

"  How  did  Captain  Forbes  happen  to  find  out 
about  it? " 

"  Why,  that  was  just  my  usual  luck  again,  you 
know,"  resumed  Wiggler. 

"  I  always  did  get  caught,  somehow  or  other;  it 
was  always  just  the  same  way  at  the  old  school  too. 
Other  fellows  could  pull  off  stunts  and  nothing  ever 
happened  to  them;  but  maybe  you  remember, 
Storm,  how  I  always  was  getting  a  lecture  from 

243 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

some  one  or  other  of  the  masters,  for  what  seemed 
nothing  at  all  sometimes." 

Then  it  was  Ralph's  turn  to  grin  surreptitiously 
behind  the  youngster's  back,  as  the  latter  went 
on: 

"  Out  about  the  middle  of  No  Man's  Land  we 
ran  into — or  rather  crept  into,  for  we  were  all 
wriggling  along  flat  on  our  stomachs — ^a  Boche 
patrol.  Then  you  can  just  bet  your  identification 
tag  there  was  some  mix-up  out  there  in  the  dark  for 
a  few  minutes.  My  eye!  But  it  was  great  while 
it  lasted.  Then  the  enemy  turned  loose  his  *  type- 
writers'  right  into  the  whole  bunch  of  us — their 
own  men  as  well  as  us. 

"  Our  lieutenant  shouted  for  us  to  fall  back, 
every  man  for  himself,  and  you  bet  I  was  about  the 
first  to  reach  the  home  plate  again.  I  didn't  pick 
a  spot  to  light  on  when  I  left  the  parapet  in  a  flying 
leap,  and  it  was  just  my  luck  to  jump  right  on  top 
of  the  captain,  who  was  coming  up  the  line  on  the 
double  time  to  see  what  the  row  was  all  about." 

"  What  did  he  say  to  you? "  asked  Ralph. 

"  Nothing  much  just  then;  but  he  had  me  up  be- 
fore him  next  day,  and  gave  me  a  lecture  just  about 
the  same  as  you  have  just  done." 

The  two  of  them  had  before  this  turned  into 
Hogan's  Alley,  and  had  already  passed  two  holes- 
in-the-wall.     Wiggler    halted    before    the    third, 

244 


THE  LISTENING  POST 

saluted,  and  said,  pointing  with  his  left  hand  at  the 
same  time: 

"  That's  where  Lieutenant  O'Brien  hangs  out, 
sir!" 

Ralph  poked  his  head  into  the  hole;  his  nostrils 
were  greeted  with  that  peculiarly  penetrating  odor 
of  deep  damp  earth,  so  gruesomely  suggestive. 
That  was  all;  there  was  nobody  at  home.     The 


Cross  section  of  a  trench,  showing  dugout  with  deep  entrance 
nnder  the  parados. 

A — Loose  earth.  F — Entrance  to  dugout* 

B — Sand- bags.  G — Dugout. 

C— Solid  earth.  H— Duck-boards. 

D— Fire  step. 

platoon  commander's  domicile  was  little  more  than 
a  dog-house;  in  it  there  was  barely  room  for  one 
bunk,  all  there  was  there  in  the  way  of  furniture. 

They  moved  on  up  the  narrow  communicating 
ditch,  and  in  another  minute  turned  into  the  fire- 
trench  itself.     And  what  a  trench ! 

This  was  no  yawning  rift  in  the  ground,  wider 

245 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

at  the  top  than  at  the  bottom,  and  gaping  with  open 
jaws  to  welcome  any  stray  shell  or  grenades  that 
might  happen  to  come  its  way.  On  the  contrary 
its  walls  were  clean  cut  squarely  and  vertically 
down,  for  the  most  part  reinforced  with  withes 
closely  wattled  in  and  out  between  stout  posts 
driven  deep  into  the  trench  floor  close  against  the 
wall,  just  as  are  countless  other  miles  of  French 
trenches;  but  where  even  this  cunning  osier  work 
had  proved  insufficient  the  skilled  hand  of  the 
American  engineer  was  in  evidence,  and  the  weak- 
ened sppts  had  been  doubly  shored  with  heavy 
planking. 

The  sand-bags  that  lined  the  parapet  lip  were 
new  and  plumply  filled.  The  fire-step  was  shapely, 
and  the  duck-boards  were  dry  and  clean;  the  trench 
must  have  been  well  drained. 

It  was  indeed  a  fighting  trench  to  satisfy  the  eye 
of  any  connoisseur  in  such  matters,  and  Lieutenant 
Storm,  who  had  seen  many  a  mile  of  fire-trench  in 
other  parts  of  France,  was  delighted  with  it.  How 
the  men  must  have  worked,  he  thought — and 
digging  is  dull,  dour  work  and  much  less  fun  than 
fighting — to  get  it  into  such  fine  shape!  It  was  an 
almost  perfect  first  line  of  defense. 

Comparatively  quiet  it  was  there  also;  and  yet 
there  was  life  and  action  of  a  kind  all  about  too. 
Ralph  felt  a  glow  of  just  pride  and  confidence  steal 

246 


THE  LISTENING  POST 

over  him  as  he  paused  in  his  stride,  the  better  to  ob- 
serve in  detail  his  immediate  surroundings;  it  was 
the  first  time  that  he  had  ever  been  in  a  real  Amer- 
ican fire-trench. 

The  day  was  fine,  and  in  the  first  "  bay  "  that  he 
and  Wiggler  turned  into,  in  a  corner  near  one  of 
the  massive  traverses — the  wary  trench  veteran  al- 
ways likes  a  corner,  for  in  case  of  a  shell  or  bomb 
happening  to  drop  into  the  bay  he  may  have  time 
to  duck  round  the  traverse  and  place  a  wall  of  solid 
earth  between  himself  and  the  deadly  missile  ere  it 
explodes — one  small  group  of  the  men  were  having 
afternoon  tea,  if  you  please.  Some  were  blowing 
on  the  hot  brew  in  their  pannikins,  while  others  ate 
a  savory  mess  of  stew  from  another  part  of  their 
mess  tins.  All  of  them  were  heartily  enjoying 
their  "  al  fresco  "  repast. 

Over  in  the  other  angle  of  the  bay  another  off- 
duty  group  were  reading  and  animatedly  discuss- 
ing the  ball  news  in  a  three-weeks-old  New  York 
daily  paper.  Still  another  little  knot  were  laugh- 
ing over  the  comic  section  of  the  same  jour- 
nal. 

Though  "off  duty"  for  the  moment,  in  the 
sense  that  they  Had  not  been  detailed  as  sentinels 
or  to  some  special  work-party,  these  idle  groups 
were  fully  accoutred  from  head  to  heel,  gas-masks 
at  the  alert,  and  rifles  ready  to  their  hands. 

247 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

On  the  fire-step  about  the  centre  of  the  bay  a 
sentinel  with  his  rifle  resting  on  the  parapet  and 
set  for  instantaneous  action  was  at  his  post  of  duty. 
At  his  feet  his  relief  lay  outstretched  on  the  fire- 
step,  basking  comfortably  upon  his  back  in  the 
agreeable  sunshine. 

When  Ralph  and  Wiggler  first  entered  the 
trench  the  soldier  on  sentinel  duty  was  busily  rec- 
onnoitering  the  landscape  in  front  of  him  through 
a  box  periscope,  and  in  order  to  bring  his  face  closer 
to  the  aperture  through  which  the  lower  mirror 
showed,  had  pushed  his  steel  helmet  well  back  upon 
his  head. 

So  engrossed  was  he  in  his  task  that  he  failed  to 
note  the  newcomers'  approach,  and  did  not  look 
round  even  when  they  paused  below  and  behind 
him.  Even  from  a  side  view  of  his  countenance 
Ralph  could  see  that  his  eyes  were  earnest  and 
steady  and  that  the  expression  of  his  face  was  one 
of  alert  and  resolute  fearlessness;  and  yet  he  was 
but  a  mere  boy  with  all  a  boy's  natural  impulsive- 
ness. 

Just  at  that  moment  he  saw,  or  thought  that  he 
saw,  something  of  more  than  usual  interest  reflected 
in  the  mirror,  and  evidently  not  quite  satisfied  with 
the  clarity  of  view  to  be  obtained  therein,  the  young 
sentinel  straightened  up  from  the  stooping  attitude 
he  had  been  holding,  and  raising  himself  on  his 

248 


THE  LISTENING  POST 


tiptoes  took  a  squint  over  the  top  of  the  parapet 
itself. 

Ralph,  as  in  duty  bound,  placed  his  hand  gently 
on  the  boy's  shoulder,  and  commanded  him  in  a  low 


tone; 


Trench  Pkeiscope 
Showing  interior  of  the  box,  arrangement  of  mirrors,  and  top 

and  bottom  openings  over  mirrors. 
AA — Openings. 
BB — Mirrors. 

Dotted  line  with  arrows  shows  line  of  direction  of  the  reflection. 
A  pair  of  field-glasses  properly  focussed,  and  used  at  the  lower 

aperture  to  view  the  picture  reflected  on  the  mirror  inside,  will 

magnify  the  scene  reflected  upon  it,  and  render  details  of  the 

picture  much  more  distinct. 

**  Pull  your  helmet  down  in  front,  my  lad!  '* 
"  Yes,  sir,"  replied  the  youthful  soldier  cheer- 
fully, looking  around  to  see  who  the  strange  officer 
was,  and  complying  with  the  order  at  once. 

"  I  thought  I  saw  something  moving  out  there 

249 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

just  now;  but  I  guess  I  was  mistaken,"  he  volun- 
teered, and  immediately  resumed  his  position  of 
observation  at  the  periscope. 

"  Let  me  have  a  look,"  demanded  Ralph. 

The  sentinel  moved  to  one  side,  Ralph  mounted 
the  fire-step  and  proceeded  to  glue  his  eyes  to  the 
lower  aperture  of  the  periscope.  Wiggler  moved 
over  to  the  group  who  were  laughing  over  the  comic 
supplement. 

Gazing  intently  for  a  space  into  the  depths  of  the 
mirror  on  which  was  reflected  a  very  small  part  of 
that  lifeless  terrain  between  the  opposing  trenches — 
that  ugly,  decaying,  and  abhorred  strip  of  degrada- 
tion, death  and  stagnation  that  wound  its  snaky 
course  through  Belgium  and  France  for  hundreds 
of  miles  from  the  shores  of  the  North  Sea  to  the 
rugged  barriers  of  Switzerland — Ralph  slowly  re- 
volved the  periscope  from  side  to  side  and  back 
again. 

From  forty  to  fifty  paces  in  depth  out  from  the 
parapet  extended  our  own  barbed  wire  with  its 
twisted  tangle  of  bent  and  upright  wooden  stakes 
and  iron  standards.  It  had  to  be  sufficiently  deep 
to  prevent  a  hostile  patrol  from  creeping  up  near 
enough  in  the  blackness  of  the  night  to  hurl  a  shower 
of  bombs  into  the  trench,  and  thirty  yards  is  about 
the  limit  for  accurate  bomb  throwing. 

Beyond  the  wire  for  a  space  nothing  living,  mov- 

250 


THE  LISTENING  POST 

ing,  was  visible,  nothing  audible;  naught  but  a 
wilderness  of  bare  earth  pitted  with  conical  holes 
from  three  to  eight  feet  deep,  the  edges  of  which  in 
places  broke  into  each  other,  so  thick  were  they. 
Here  and  there  between  the  shell-holes  was  an  old 
log,  a  battered  stump,  or  a  dead  body  whose  fester- 
ing rags  fluttered  sickly  in  the  small  breeze  then 
blowing. 

And  beyond  that  stretch  of  arid  desolation  was 
depicted  on  the  mirror  the  hazy  threads  of  the  Ger- 
man entanglements,  and  still  further  on  the  dull 
gray  line  of  his  parapets.  It  all  seemed  quite  dead 
and  harmless;  yet  Ralph  knew  he  had  but  to  raise 
his  head  above  the  parapet  to  bring  a  bullet  dipping 
with  a  soft  almost  noiseless  "  flick  "  into  the  sand- 
bags in  front  of  him,  or  into  the  loose  earth  of  the 
parados  behind  him. 

He  turned  away  from  the  periscope,  and  address- 
ing the  sentinel  whom  he  had  displaced,  inquired: 

"  Where  shall  I  find  your  platoon  commander?  " 

"  Lieutenant  O'Brien  is  down  there,  that  way, 
sir,"  he  replied,  pointing  in  the  direction  he  wished 
to  indicate  with  his  finger,  and  added: 

"  He  has  a  work-party  down  there  filling  up  sand- 
bags, so  as  to  have  them  ready  to  fix  up  a  piece  of 
the  parapet  that  was  smashed  in  by  a  *  whizz-bang ' 
last  night." 

It  was  not  till  they  had  almost  reached  the  right 

251 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

flank  of  the  section  of  trench  occupied  by  their  regi- 
ment that  they  at  last  found  Lieutenant  O'Brien 
busily  directing  the  efforts  of  his  work-party.  In 
every  bay,  as  they  made  their  way  along,  Ralph 
had  paused,  however,  to  scrutinize  that  portion  of 
No  Man's  Land  and  the  enemy's  trenches  immedi- 
ately opposite.  The  sentinel  on  duty  in  each  bay 
was  furnished  with  a  periscope,  and  the  various 
groups  and  individuals  of  each  bay  as  they  passed 
along  were  more  or  less  similarly  occupied  as  those 
already  described  in  the  first  bay  they  had  entered. 

Lieutenant  Storm  was  not  at  all  satisfied  with  his 
periscopic  observations,  and  so  expressed  himself 
when  he  met  Lieutenant  O'Brien.  Through  a 
loophole  between  the  sand-bags  of  the  parapet  the 
latter  then  pointed  out  to  Ralph  the  entrance  to  a 
zigzag  passage  through  their  own  wire,  for  use  by 
night  patrols.  For  further  use  Ralph  made  a  care- 
ful note  of  the  bearings  of  this  passage. 

Lieutenant  O'Brien  also  informed  him  that  up 
near  the  road,  at  the  other  end  of  the  section  then 
occupied  by  his  platoon — that  is  to  say,  not  far 
from  "  D  "  on  Captain  Goring's  sketch,  already 
mentioned — they  had  constructed  a  sap,  leading 
from  the  trench  and  passing  under  their  barbed 
wire  out  into  No  Man's  Land.  At  the  end  of  the 
sap  there  was  a  carefully  camouflaged  "  listening 
post  "  that  was  constantly  occupied. 

252 


THE  LISTENING  POST 

He  suggested  that  Lieutenant  Storm  could  get  a 
closer  and  better  view,  and  with  the  naked  eye,  of 
the  enemy  defenses  from  that  point — ^particularly 
of  the  "  bulge  "  that  it  was  proposed  to  destroy, 
and  offered  to  conduct  Ralph  to  it  himself. 

They  at  once  began  to  retrace  their  steps  along 
the  fire-trench,  Wiggler  trailing  along  after  the  two 
young  officers. 

Saps  are  of  different  kinds  and  intended  for  dif- 
ferent purposes.  There  is  the  open  kind — a  mere 
ditch  leading  out  from  the  trenches.  If  it  happens 
to  be  one  of  the  enemy's  it  can  sometimes  be  seen 
eating  its  way  slowly  day  by  day  out  into  No  Man's 
Land;  but  this  species,  the  commonest  because  the 
easiest  to  construct,  is  generally  worked  forward 
under  cover  of  night. 

Then  there  is  the  covered  or  tunneled  kind,  which 
is  much  more  difficult  and  slower  of  construction; 
but  is  also  the  more  valuable  because  of  its  se- 
crecy. 

Saps  are  used  as  "  jumping-off  "  places  for  raids 
and  patrols.  Snipers  make  use  of  them  to  ap- 
proach nearer  the  enemy's  trenches.  They  make 
the  best  kind  of  listening  posts.  Others  are  con- 
structed for  the  sole  purpose  of  planting  mines  at 
the  sap-heads.  Sometimes  they  approach  so  near 
the  opposing  trench  that  bombs  may  be  conveni- 
ently hurled  from  them  into  these  defenses.     Then 

253 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

again  some  are  dug  or  excavated  solely  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  convenient  observation 
posts.  Whatever  their  nature  they  are  always  a 
menace. 

The  sax3  in  question  had  been  constructed  by  the 


^ 
^ 


The  Sap 

A  A — Road  crossing  both  Allied  and  German  lines, 

BB — Fire  trench — the  front  line. 

CC — Support  or  second  line  trench. 

DD — Commanication  trench. 

E — Sap— or  trench  leading  to  listening  post. 

F — The  listening  post. 

American  engineers  with  great  labor  to  serve  both 
as  an  observation  post  by  day  and  as  a  jumping-off 
place  for  our  patrols  by  night.  The  zigzagging 
tunnel  out  to  the  listening  post  was  so  low  that 
one  had  to  crawl  on  hands  and  knees  along  it. 

254 


THE  LISTENING  POST 

Ralph,  creeping  after  Lieutenant  O'Brien,  on 
reaching  the  listening  post,  a  circular  chamber  at 
the  end  of  the  sap,  so  confined  that  it  barely  per- 
mitted the  two  lieutenants  to  crowd  in  alongside 
of  the  two  soldiers  already  on  duty  there. 

A  narrow  slit  cut  laterally  through  the  turf  al- 
lowed the  observer  a  wide  view  of  No  Man's  Land 
to  the  right,  and  to  the  left  a  section  of  the  road 
and  the  "  bulge  "  in  the  German  trench  on  the  other 
side  of  it.  A  trap-door  of  boards  that  the  en- 
gineers had  cunningly  camouflaged  with  a  covering 
of  sods  and  stones  cemented  thereon,  blocked  the 
entire  exit  with  the  exception  of  the  narrow  slit 
above  mentioned.  This  skilfully  constructed  door 
could  be  raised  and  lowered  at  will  from  the  inside ; 
but  was  never  opened  except  at  night.  The  fact 
that  the  enemy's  eyes,  always  glaring  across  No 
Man's  Land,  had  not  discovered  the  sap,  which  had 
then  been  in  use  for  several  weeks,  spoke  volumes 
for  the  cunning  skill  of  the  American  engineers. 

For  what  seemed  a  long  time  to  Lieutenant 
O'Brien  in  his  cramped  quarters,  and  still  longer 
to  the  disappointed  Wiggler  who  had  been  com- 
pelled to  remain  back  in  the  fire-trench,  Ralph 
patiently  surveyed  inch  by  inch  the  terrain  there 
exposed  to  his  eager  view,  while  he  strove  to  photo- 
graph on  his  mind  all  its  more  salient  details. 

Near  where  the  "  bulge  "  began  just  across  the 

255 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

forbidden  road  he  could  plainly  see  a  work-party 
of  German  soldiers  repairing  a  great  breach  in  their 
parapet.  Although  they  were  under  cover  from 
direct  fire  in  front,  they  were  quite  exposed  to  an 
oblique  fire  from  the  sentinels  in  the  listening 
post. 

Lieutenant  Storm  glanced  from  the  enemy  sol- 
diers, so  plainly  in  view,  to  the  rifles  of  the  sentinels 
in  the  post,  and  then  inquiringly  at  Lieutenant 
O'Brien.  The  latter  shook  his  head  with  a  dry 
smile.  The  two  American  doughboys  were  also 
smiling  broadly,  for  they  too  had  noted  and  cor- 
rectly interpreted  Ralph's  glance  of  questioning 
surprise. 

No  other  reply  was  necessary.  Ralph  realized 
at  once  that  it  was  considered  of  far  more  impor- 
tance to  maintain  the  secrecy  of  the  listening  post 
than  to  shoot  two  or  three  of  the  enemy,  and  that 
the  men  had  orders  under  no  circumstances  to  risk 
giving  away  the  location  of  their  hiding  place  for 
the  pleasure  of  a  pot-shot,  no  matter  how  great 
the  temptation  to  do  so  might  be.  That  they  could 
have  resisted  the  itching  they  must  have  felt  to  draw 
a  bead  on  such  a  fine  target  promised  well  for  the 
discipline  of  the  regiment. 

After  leaving  that  interesting  spot  Storm  sur- 
veyed the  remainder  of  the  front  line  occupied  by 
his  regiment,  making  as  many  observations  of  the 

256 


THE  LISTENING  POST 

conformation  of  the  ground  between  the  opposing 
lines  as  possible,  and  it  was  already  becoming  dusk 
ere  he  and  Wiggler  started  to  make  their  return 
trip  through  the  communication  trenches. 


257 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  PATROL 

*'And  men  with  vigil  in  their  eyes 
And  a  f  ever-light  that  never  dies — 
Men  from  the  city,  hamlet,  town. 
Once  white  faces  turned  to  hrown — 
Stand  to  the  watch  of  the  parapet 
And  watch  with  rifles,  bayonets  set,'* 
— Sergeant  J.  W.  Streets 

{Killed  in  action.) 

Guided  again  by  Wiggler,  and  this  time  accom- 
panied by  Chuck  Barrows,  Ralph  paid  another 
visit  to  the  fire-trench  the  following  night.  He 
knew  that  locating  oneself  in  the  trenches  after 
nightfall  was  quite  another  matter  from  making 
one's  way  about  there  in  daylight,  and  had  wisely 
made  up  his  mind  to  familiarize  himself  with  the 
surroundings  under  both  conditions. 

The  idea  that  possessed  all  three  of  them  as  they 
floundered  up  through  the  communication  trench 
and  past  the  support  trench  was  the  utter  lone- 
someness  of  it  all.  Night  had  long  fallen  ere  they 
started,  and  everything  for  the  moment  was  un- 
cannily, appallingly  quiet,  for  they  knew  that  all 
about  them,  in  their  near  vicinity,  were  hidden  away 

258 


THE  PATROL 

hundreds  and  hundreds  of  men,  continually  waiting 
by  their  arms,  ready  for  instant  call. 

Yet  they  saw  not  one  of  them  till  they  had  at  last 
turned  into  the  fire-trench  itself,  and  there  came 
upon  the  first  sentry  grayly  vigilant  at  his  post,  with 
his  "  relief  "  sitting  silently  at  his  feet  on  the  dimly 
outlined  fire-step. 

Reassuring  the  sentinel  with  a  word,  they 
mounted  the  step  on  either  side  of  him,  Wiggler  as 
well  as  the  two  young  officers,  to  peer  out  over  the 
parapet  between  the  gaps  of  the  sand-bags  into  No 
Man's  Land. 

"Anything  doing? "  queried  Lieutenant  Bar- 
rows of  the  sentry  in  a  low  whisper  as  he  stepped 
up  beside  him. 

"  No,  sir.  All  quiet! "  answered  the  latter  in  an 
equally  guarded  tone. 

Both  knew  and  remembered  that  they  were  not 
much  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  re- 
moved from  the  German  front-line  trench,  and  for 
all  they  knew  to  the  contrary  might  be  within  fifty 
yards  of  an  enemy  advanced  listening  post. 

All  was  solid  blackness  out  there  at  first,  and  they 
could  not  even  discern  the  faintest  outline  of  their 
own  barbed  wire,  thick  and  tangled  mass  though 
it  was. 

But  the  German,  in  spite  of  the  stolidity  with 
which  before  the  war  we  were  wont  to  attribute  him, 

259 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

was  always  as  nervous  as  a  flea  when  he  knew  that 
it  was  the  "  Yanks  "  who  held  the  ditch  in  front  of 
him,  and  his  nervous  curiosity  was  insatiable.  He 
suspected  that  they  were  always  up  to  something — 
and  he  was  not  far  wrong  at  that. 

Even  as  the  three  young  soldiers  vainly  endeav- 
ored to  pierce  with  their  eyes  the  opaque  wall  of 
darkness  in  front  of  them  two  or  three  flares  shot 
up  from  the  trenches  directly  opposite,  and  sailed 
in  a  graceful  parabola  of  beautiful  silver-green 
light  over  the  intervening  desert  space.  Then  as 
if  the  enemy  had  suddenly  become  excited  over 
something  they  suspected  and  feared  was  going 
on  out  there,  or  farther  back  in  the  American 
trenches,  they  began  to  send  up  rockets  enough,  and 
to  fire  off  powder  enough  to  put  an  old-fashioned 
Fourth  of  July  celebration  quite  in  the  shade. 

Soaring  rockets  and  innumerable  flares  with  their 
silver-green  and  glaring  white  lights  all  at  once 
iluminated  No  Man's  Land  with  startling  vivid- 
ness. Ralph  and  his  companions  on  the  fire-step 
could  see  each  other's  features  distinctly.  Details 
of  the  trench  interior,  the  strange  shapes  of  the 
barb-wire  stakes  outside,  and  the  pitted  terrain  in 
front  of  them,  all  sprang  into  view  with  the  abrupt- 
ness of  screen  pictures. 

An  instant  thus  of  dazzling  light,  and  then  that 
wonderful  silence  that  had  hitherto  reigned  was 

260 


THE  PATROL 

shattered  by  the  savage  chatter  of  machine  guns. 
The  "  ssh "  of  bullets  overhead  and  their  soft 
"  flick,  flick  "  into  the  sand-bags  in  front  caused 
the  five  eager  watchers — the  "  relief "  had  also 
mounted  the  fire-step  to  view  the  beautiful  pyro- 
technic display — in  that  particular  fire-bay  to  duck 
their  heads  with  one  consent  below  the  shelter  of 
the  parapet  lip. 

The  lights  died  out  as  suddenly  as  they  had  come. 
Like  the  abrupt  closing  of  a  book  darkness  fell  over 
all  and  shut  out  the  view  again.  It  was  just  a 
nervous  flutter  on  the  part  of  Fritz,  and  was  over 
within  a  minute.  But  he  might  have  another  fit  of 
the  "  jumps  "  in  yet  another  minute.  He  always 
had  "  the  wind-up  "  when  he  knew  our  fellows  were 
there,  and  no  matter  how  quiet  a  line  trench  at  night 
might  be  for  the  moment,  it  was  always  the  treach- 
erous quiet  of  nerve  tension  stretched  almost  to  the 
breaking  point. 

Several  such  outbursts  on  the  part  of  the  enemy 
Ralph  Storm  and  "  Chuck "  Barrows  witnessed 
that  night,  as  piloted  by  the  young  "  runner,"  they 
made  their  stumbling  way  up  and  down  the  dark- 
some trench,  pausing  in  each  separate  fire-bay  to 
peer  over  its  parapet  and  question  the  sentry  on 
duty  there  as  they  went  along.  In  spite  of  the 
fact  that  both  Storm  and  Barrows  were  due  to  go 
out  on  reconnaissance  patrol  the  following  night, 

261 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMr 

they  remained  up  there  in  the  fire-trench  till  just 
before  "  stand-to  "  at  dawn. 

That  afternoon  while  Ralph  Storm  was  super- 
intending the  construction  of  some  of  the  portable 
barb-wire  obstructions  that  were  to  be  carried  up 
the  line  in  readiness  for  the  raid  upon  the  bulge, 
Captain  Goring  brought  him  the  welcome  news 
that  Rod  Van  Home  had  been  relieved  of  his  duties 
at  the  training  camp,  and  had  been  ordered  to  re- 
port forthwith  to  his  own  regiment. 

"A  paragraph  to  that  effect  appeared  in  yester- 
day's Daily  Orders  from  General  Headquarters,  a 
copy  of  which  arrived  at  our  P.  C,  to-day,"  added 
the  captain.  "  So  I  suppose  that  we  may  expect 
your  friend,  Lieutenant  Van  Home,  to  join  us  at 
any  time  now." 

"  I  wish  he  would  arrive  in  time  to  go  out  with 
me  on  that  patrol  to-night,"  said  Lieutenant  Storm. 

"  I  hardlj'^  think  that  he  would  find  the  time  for 
that,  even  if  he  were  here,"  rejoined  Captain  Gor- 
ing. "  I  understand  that  the  adjutant  has  plenty 
of  work  cut  out  for  him  as  '  gas  officer '  as  soon  as 
he  arrives." 

So  saying  the  captain  continued  on  his  tour  of 
inspection,  evidently  quite  satisfied  with  the  man- 
ner in  which  his  newest  lieutenant  was  carrying  on 
with  the  job  he  then  had  in  hand. 

And  in  truth  Ralph,  with  his  coat  off  and  his 

262 


THE  PATROL 

shirt-sleeves  rolled,  was  laboring  manfully.  The 
men  were  new  to  the  work  and  needed  constant 
supervision  and  instruction.  The  "  saw-buck  "  ob- 
stacles, or  "  knife-rests,"  as  the  British  Tommy  had 
been  used  to  call  them,  had  of  necessity  to  be  of 
certain  specified  dimensions  in  order  that  they  might 
be  carried  up  through  the  narrow  and  crooked  com- 
munication trenches,  and  they  had  also  to  be 
strongly  put  together  in  order  to  serve  the  pur- 
pose for  which  they  were  intended. 


The  **Saw-Buck 


This  particular  species  of  barb-wire  obstacle  was 
mostly  used  for  emergency  or  stop-gap  occasions. 
The  framework  of  each  section  was  made  of  small 
tree-trunks  about  ten  feet  long  and  four  feet  square, 
covered  with  a  jumble  of  long,  sharp  barbed  wire, 
most  difficult  and  unpleasant  to  handle. 

The  method  of  using  them  sounds  simple  enough. 
The  "  saw-buck  "  was  carried  along  the  trench  to 
the  part  that  required  "  wiring."     Then  it  was 

263 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

hoisted  over  the  top  of  the  parapet  and  pushed  out 
a  little  way.    That  was  all. 

But  in  actual  practice  the  task  was  a  difficult  one 
and  far  from  desirable.  A  trench  at  the  best  of 
times  is  usually  not  more  than  three  feet  wide,  and 
is  broken  in  length  every  few  yards  by  the  rough 
corners  of  a  traverse  around  which  the  awkward, 
prickly  things  had  to  be  lugged.  The  parapet  was 
never  any  too  high,  and  any  unusual  movement  in 
the  trench  was  sure  to  attract  the  attention  of  the 
enemy's  trench  mortars  and  rifle  grenades. 

Then,  too,  the  narrow  trench  always  had  its  own 
regular  complement  of  men,  rifles,  mortars,  and 
sand-bag  piles  already  there,  so  that  to  pass  along 
the  heavy  "  obstacle  "  with  its  loose  waving  strands 
and  stray  ends  of  barb- wire  that  caught  into  every 
one  and  everything  on  the  way  was  no  light  task, 
as  we  have  already  observed.  And  yet  that  was  the 
safest  method  of  wiring  a  trench. 

The  easier  and  more  common  way,  although  the 
more  dangerous,  was  to  creep  out  into  No  Man's 
Land  on  some  very  dark  night  and  drive  into  the 
ground  rows  of  stout  wooden  stakes  with  muffled 
wooden  mallets,  every  muffled  thud  of  which 
sounded  like  an  ominous  knell  of  death  to  the 
novice,  putting  him  into  a  very  bath  of  perspira- 
tion even  on  a  cold  night,  setting  his  "  goose-flesh  " 

all  aquiver,  and  causing  every  hair  of  his  head  to 

264 


THE  PATROL 

stand  on  end  with  the  sound  of  each  dull  thump. 
Whenever  they  were  available  iron  screw  standards 
were  worked  into  the  ground  corkscrew  fashion,  and 
were  used  instead  of  the  wooden  stakes. 

About  the  stakes  or  standards  the  wire  had  then 
to  be  wound  in  and  out,  and  fastened  in  a  tangled 
jumble.  The  barbs  seemed  to  clutch  at  your  limbs 
and  clothes  like  living  things  that  were  just  trying 
to  show  how  troublesome  and  nasty  they  could  be. 

Added  to  that,  at  every  star-shell  you  had  to 
stand  as  still  as  a  statue  or  fall  on  your  face  in  the 
tangled  jumble  of  wood  and  wire,  praying  and 
hoping  that  Fritz  would  not  detect  the  wiring 
party  and  open  up  on  you  with  his  "  typewriters." 
And  if  by  any  chance  he  did  detect  or  even  sus- 
pect the  presence  of  a  wiring  party  out  there  you 
had  to  give  it  up  for  that  night,  and  as  likely  as 
not,  as  the  poilu  used  to  say,  experienced  "  Un 
mauvais  quart  d'heure  "  before  you  got  back  to  the 
shelter  of  your  own  blessed  trench  again. 

After  one  experience  on  a  wiring  detail  no  sol- 
dier ever  hankered  for  a  second,  for  of  all  things 
unpleasant  there  was  none  that  surpassed  it. 

On  his  way  up  the  line  that  night  with  his  little 
patrol,  Ralph  halted  for  a  moment  at  the  Regi- 
mental P.  C.  to  ascertain  if  Lieutenant  Van  Home 
had  as  yet  reported  there.  He  had  not  as  yet  done 
so,  although  he  was  that  night  expected  to  report, 

265 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

and  so  the  little  party  of  four  continued  on  their 
way. 

The  reconnaissance  patrol,  as  chosen  by  Ralph, 
was  to  consist  of  four  only.  Lieutenant  Barrows, 
Sergeant  Hayes  of  Ralph's  platoon,  Baptiste 
Trudeau,  the  French  Canadian  who  was  an  old 
deer  stalker  and  just  the  man  for  such  an  occasion, 
and  Ralph  himself.  The  French  Canadian  had 
been  sent  up  the  line  earlier  in  the  day  in  order  to 
familiarize  himself  with  the  lay  of  the  land,  and 
would  be  waiting  to  join  them  up  there.  The  three 
then  on  their  way  up  were  again  guided  by  young 
"  Wiggler  "  Matson,  the  runner,  at  Ralph's  special 
request. 

When  giving  Baptiste  his  instructions  that  after- 
noon Lieutenant  Storm  had  told  him  to  take  par- 
ticular note  of  the  ground  immediately  in  front  of 
and  beyond  his  own  wire  at  about  where  the  zigzag 
alley  had  purposely  been  left  for  a  passage  through 
it.  Ralph  had  determined  to  use  that  more  diffi- 
cult means  of  getting  on  the  other  side  of  his  own 
barbed  wire,  rather  than  the  easier  way  out  into 
No  Man's  Land  by  means  of  the  sap.  The  easier 
and  quicker  way  would  be  used  during  the  coming 
raid,  and  he  feared  risking  the  attraction  of  the 
enemy's  attention  to  it  prematurely. 

The  purpose  of  the  patrol  being  solely  to  obtain 
information,  Ralph  would  have  preferred  making  it 

266 


THE  PATROL 

accompanied  by  the  French  Canadian  alone.  But 
for  the  reasons  already  mentioned  Lieutenant  Bar- 
rows' presence  was  deemed  necessary  on  this  occa- 
sion, and  as  Sergeant  Hayes  was  to  have  charge  of 
a  special  section  of  his  platoon  during  the  raid  it 
was  most  advisable  that  he  too  should  become 
familiar  with  the  appearance  of  the  enemy's  wire 
and  trenches  under  the  obscurity  of  night,  a  very 
different  matter  from  merely  viewing  them  across 
the  space  between  by  daylight. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  the  American  patrols  con- 
sisted generally  of  not  more  than  two  or  three  to- 
gether. And  more  often  than  not,  both  with  our 
forces  and  the  British,  that  fascinating  and  perilous 
duty  was  performed  by  a  single  scout.  Under  no 
circumstances  were  they  to  court  an  encounter  with 
a  hostile  patrol  that  was  as  likely  as  not  to  be  prowl- 
ing around  on  its  stomach  out  there  in  the  inky 
darkness  at  the  same  time. 

The  sole  duty  of  a  scout  on  patrol  was  to  find 
out  without  being  found  out,  to  get  as  close  to  the 
enemy  wire  as  possible,  to  lay  his  ear  to  the  harassed 
soil  every  now  and  then  and  listen  with  bated  breath 
for  the  "  pick-pick "  and  "  scrape-scrape "  of  a 
possible  sapping  party  bent  perhaps  on  preparing 
a  mine,  or  to  crawl  along  the  enemy's  wire  to  ascer- 
tain if  he  had  repairing  parties  out,  or  was  making 
preparations  for  a  raid  in  force  on  our  trenches. 

267 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

Another  reason  why  our  scouts  had  to  avoid  en- 
countering an  enemy  patrol,  to  see  without  being 
seen,  to  hear  without  being  heard,  was  because  the 
Hun  always  patrolled  in  strong  parties  spread  out 
like  a  wedge  with  its  apex  pointing  toward  our 
trenches.     The  only  proper  thing  for  our  patrol  to 


The  Mills  Bomb  (Exterior) 

This  fearful  little  lemon-shaped  bomb  has  been  fonnd  especially 
efl&oient  in  clearing  out  the  enemy's  dugouts.  In  exactly  four 
seconds  after  one  of  these  apparently  harmless  little  lumps  of 
cast  iron  rolled  down  into  an  ordinary  size  dugout  there  would 
usually  be  nothing  left  alive  inside. 


do  when  he  suspected  an  enemy  in  front  of  him  was 
to  back  up  crab  fashion  lest  he  should  become  en- 
trapped among  the  crawling  members  of  a  wing  of 
the  wedge. 

268 


THE  PATROL 

Ralph  had  forbidden  the  mdividuals  of  his  party 
to  carry  firearms  of  any  kind.  He  himself  was 
armed,  as  were  the  others,  with  but  a  heavy  trench 
club  and  a  short  trench  dagger.  As  a  usual  thing  a 
patrol  carried  two  or  three  Mills  bombs  in  his 
pockets;  but  Ralph  had  forbidden  even  these,  so 
bent  was  he  on  carrying  out  the  reconnaissance  with 
the  utmost  secrecy. 

Fortunately  the  night  was  pitch  dark.  They 
reported  to  Captain  Forbes  in  his  dugout,  and  he 
accompanied  them  up  to  the  fire-trench.  Word 
was  passed  along  from  bay  to  bay  to  the  sentinels 
on  duty  there  that  a  patrol  was  about  to  go  out, 
and  under  no  circumstances  to  fire  into  the  inky 
blackness  of  No  Man's  Land  till  word  was  again 
passed  down  the  trenches  that  the  patrol  was  "  in." 

Baptiste  they  found  sitting  on  the  fire-step  at  the 
spot  which  Ralph  had  designated,  patiently  waiting 
with  that  inbred  stoicism  natural  to  his  half -Indian 
blood. 

Each  had  been  assigned  his  place  in  numerical 
order,  Baptiste  leading,  Ralph  next,  then  Lieu- 
tenant Barrows,  and  lastly  Sergeant  Hayes.  All 
had  been  carefully  instructed  by  Ralph  in  the  role 
■that  each  was  expected  to  play.  Wiggler,  much  to 
his  chagrin,  for  he  had  all  along  been  hoping  that 
Storm  would  allow  him  to  go  over  the  top  with  the 
party,  was  sternly  ordered  to  remain  at  the  post  on 

269 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  5.  ^RMT 

the  fire-step  vacated  by  the  French  Canadian,  till 
the  return  of  the  patrol. 

Captain  Forbes  had  already  informed  Lieutenant 
Storm  that,  save  for  the  usual  sporadic  outbursts 
of  rifle  and  machine  gun  fire,  the  night  up  till  then 


Thb  Mills  Bomb  (Section) 

A — Cast-iron  body,  serrated  so  as  to  break  into  separate  small 

pieces  on  exploding. 
B — Striker  lever,  holding  np  striker  till  safety  pin  is  pulled. 
C — Safety  pin  that  retains  lever  in  place. 
D — Striker  with  spiral  spring  that  explodes  "  E." 
E — Cap  that  ignites  bent  time  fuse,  *'  F." 
F— Time  fuse  that  in  four  seconds  explodes  detonator,  *'  H." 
H— Fulminate  of  Mercury  Detonator  that  explodes  Ammonal 

charge,  "I." 
I— Explosive  Ammonal  that  bursts  the  bomb. 


had  been  a  very  quiet  one,  and  it  was  still  so. 
time  was  then  a  little  past  midnight. 

270 


The 


THE  PATROL 

"All  ready,  Baptiste? "  demanded  Ralph  in  a 
low  tone  as  they  drew  near  the  latter. 

"  Oui,  monsieur,  tout  correct! "  replied  Baptiste 
in  a  whisper,  springing  to  his  feet  and  saluting  as 
he  recognized  his  lieutenant's  voice. 

"  Then  carry  on!  "  commanded  Ralph  tersely. 

Without  further  parley  the  Canadian  faced 
about,  sprang  to  the  fire-step,  vaulted  thence  nimbly 
onto  the  top  of  the  parapet,  and  at  once  began  to 
descend  its  gentle  slope  with  as  little  apparent  con- 
cern as  if  he  were  merely  strolling  out  of  his  own 
little  cabin  door  in  far-off  Canada.  One  after  an- 
other the  others  followed  him  with  as  little  pause 
as  might  be.  Almost  as  soon  as  they  went  over 
the  top  they  were  swallowed  up  in  the  blackness, 
and  like  four  silent  ghosts  disappeared  from  the 
straining  eyes  of  Captain  Forbes  and  Wiggler,  left 
behind  in  the  trench. 

Cautiously,  but  with  as  little  hesitation  as  if  he 
had  really  been  able  to  see  for  more  than  a  yard 
ahead  of  him,  Baptiste  led  the  way  straight  out  to 
the  wire.  At  his  low  "  s-s-s "  the  other  three 
dropped  flat  on  their  faces  as  he  had  already  done. 

The  passage  through  the  wire  was  low  and 
narrow.  Once  Ralph  made  as  if  to  raise  himself  on 
his  hands  and  knees,  but  the  sharp  barbed  strands 
that  spanned  the  alley  warned  him  that  the  only 
way  to  get  through  was  prone  upon  the  ground  at 

271 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  JRMT 

full  length.  The  ground  was  rough;  the  entangle- 
ment was  about  twenty  feet  in  depth;  but  owing  to 
the  twistings  and  turnings  of  the  devious  passage 
they  were  obliged  to  worm  their  difficult  way  along 
for  more  than  thirty  yards  ere  they  at  length 
emerged  from  it  one  by  one  into  the  Stygian  gloom 
and  appalling  silence  of  No  Man's  Land. 

Just  beyond  the  entanglement  they  arose  to  their 
feet  again,  and  paused  for  a  brief  space,  listening 
with  all  their  ears  and  unavailingly  striving  to 
pierce^the  darkness  in  front  of  them  with  their 
eyes. 

Baptiste  took  from  his  pocket  a  stout  cord  previ- 
ously prepared  with  a  loop  at  each  end,  and  two 
other  loops  between  the  ends  and  at  about  twenty 
feet  apart.  He  passed  the  first  loop  to  Sergeant 
Hayes,  and  as  he  quickly  unwound  the  ball  of  cord 
passed  the  other  loops  in  succession  to  Lieutenant 
Barrows  and  Ralph.  Each  in  turn  slipped  his  loop 
over  his  left  hand  and  about  his  left  wrist,  leaving 
the  slack  of  the  cord  to  fall  to  the  ground  between 
them. 

While  the  French  Canadian  was  thus  engaged 
Sergeant  Hayes  produced  a  roll  of  narrow  white 
tape,  and  attached  one  end  of  it  to  the  foot  of  a 
stake  at  the  place  where  they  had  emerged  from 
the  wire. 

Their  manner  of  progress  thenceforth  till  they 

272 


THE  PATROL 

had  again  returned  to  the  spot  where  they  then 
stood  was  to  be  smiply  as  follows,  provided  always 
of  course  that  nothing  unforeseen  marred  Ralph's 
plans. 

When  Baptiste,  in  the  lead,  had  advanced  his 
twenty  feet  Ralph  would  then  feel  the  pull  of  the 
cord  at  his  wrist,  as  would  also  Baptiste  at  the  same 
time.  The  latter  would  thereupon  at  once  halt  and 
wait  until  Ralph  had  joined  him,  ere  going  on 
again.  When  Ralph  had  reached  Baptiste  Lieu- 
tenant Barrows  would  in  his  turn  feel  the  tug  at 
his  wrist  and  would  at  once  advance  to  join  Ralph, 
who  should  remain  perfectly  still  till  "  Chuck " 
came  up  with  him,  by  which  time  Sergeant  Hayes 
would  also  have  received  his  signal  to  move  out  to 
where  Lieutenant  Barrows  would  then  be  waiting 
for  him. 

The  process  would  be  repeated  over  and  over 
again  as  they  proceeded.  At  no  time,  unless  it 
were  deemed  advisable  for  some  reason,  would  more 
than  two  of  them  be  together  at  once,  and  then  for 
but  a  moment  only. 

As  Sergeant  Hayes  moved  he  was  to  unwind  the 
roll  of  white  tape,  one  end  of  which  he  had  an- 
chored near  the  entrance  to  their  wire. 

Each  of  the  little  party  had  moved  forward  once 
and  Lieutenant  Barrows  had  silently  stolen  up 
alongside  of  Ralph  for  the  second  time,  when  a 

273 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

glaring  star-shell  suddenly  soared  up  from  the  op- 
posite trenches  and  fell  not  far  from  them.  It  was 
followed,  or  rather  accompanied,  by  several  rifle 
shots.  The  hearts  of  the  patrol  in  their  mouths, 
they  all  stood  perfectly  motionless  in  their  tracks. 
Each  felt  himself  the  target  for  the  enemy's  fire. 

Another  star-shell  shot  up;  but  this  time  it  had 
been  fired  in  quite  another  direction;  they  knew 
then  that  they  had  not  yet  been  seen. 

And  yet  at  the  very  first  rifle  shot  Lieutenant 
Barrows  had  involuntarily  given  utterance  to  a 
low,  startled  "  Oh,"  almost  under  his  breath. 

"What's  the  matter?  Clicked  it?"  queried 
Ralph  in  an  anxious  whisper,  reaching  out  a  hand 
in  the  darkness  to  feel  the  other's  arm. 

"  No,  I'm  all  right !  "  Lieutenant  Barrows  hastily 
reassured  him  in  a  whisper  that  Ralph  thought  was 
a  bit  shaky,  and  wondered  thereat.  It  was  not  till 
next  day  that  he  learned  that  a  bullet,  striking  the 
iron  head  of  Chuck's  short  trench  club,  had  knocked 
it  from  his  grasp  and  had  momentarily  paralyzed 
his  right  arm  clear  to  the  elbow. 

Even  as  Lieutenant  Barrows  replied  to  Ralph's 
query  the  latter  felt  the  insistent  tug  upon  his  left 
wrist  again,  and  once  more  started  forward.  This 
time  he  found  Baptiste  waiting  prone  upon  the 
ground.  As  they  were  then  approaching  the 
middle  of  the  "  billard,"  as  the  poilu  has  nicknamed 

274 


THE  PATROL 

No  Man's  Land,  Baptiste  advised  that  further 
progress  should  be  made  on  hands  and  knees,  and 
to  this  effect  each  was  cautioned  as  he  drew  up 
alongside  the  scout  ahead  of  him.  Thus  crawling 
they  reached  the  enemy's  wire  without  further  mis- 
hap, and  lay  quiet  there  for  a  few  minutes,  breath- 
lessly listening  again. 

To  a  stake  of  the  German  wire  Sergeant  Hayes 
then  attached  the  narrow  tape  that  stretched  clear 
across  No  Man's  Land,  and  would  furnish  a  sure 
guiding  line  for  the  patrol's  return  journey.  He 
took  from  his  pockets  a  second  roll,  the  loose  end 
of  which  he  fastened  to  the  same  stake.  The  first 
tape  was  to  serve  as  a  guide,  this  second  one  as  a 
measure  of  the  distance  they  should  crawl  along 
the  Hun  wire  from  the  point  at  which  they  had 
first  struck  it. 

Their  progress  along  the  enemy's  obstacle  was 
even  slower  and  made  with  still  greater  caution 
than  they  had  employed  in  crossing  the  "  billard." 
They  felt  along  the  wire  for  an  opening  as  their 
slow  way  they  snaked  from  stake  to  stake.  More 
than  once  Baptiste  thought  he  had  found  it;  but 
always  on  crawling  into  the  vacant  space  he  met 
with  an  impasse  of  tangled  barbs  and  found  that 
he  had  been  once  more  mistaken. 

For  what  seemed  an  interminable  time,  with 

many   a  breathless   pause  to  hearken,  they  had 

275 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMY 

wormed  their  way  along  the  uneven  fringe  of  the 
entanglement,  and  then  there  came  a  halt  longer 
than  any  they  had  yet  made. 

At  all  times,  even  in  the  broad  light  of  day,  the 
view  from  the  lip  of  a  parapet  across  No  Man's 
Land  is  a  deceptive  one.  The  watcher's  glance 
being  horizontal  with  the  surface  of  the  terrain  in 
front  fails  to  take  in  the  depths  of  the  shell-holes 
and  furrows,  and  quite  omits  folds  in  the  ground 
that  prove  to  be  of  no  inconsiderable  magnitude 
when  one  comes  to  traverse  them.  The  bottoms 
of  some  of  those  folds  are  quite  out  of  sight  and 
range  from  the  parapet,  and  make  what  in  military 
parlance  is  called  "  dead  ground."  Baptiste's 
progress  along  the  wire  was  brought  to  an  abrupt 
pause  by  a  puzzling  cleft  in  one  of  those  bot- 
toms. 

Crawling  slowly  along  he  had  unexpectedly 
thrust  one  of  his  outstretched  hands  over  the  clean- 
cut  edge  of  a  ditch.  Reaching  a  little  further  down 
its  side  he  felt  water,  the  depth  of  which  he  could 
not  plumb  with  his  arm;  nor  could  he  reach  across 
the  cleft  to  the  other  side.  So  pitch  dark  was  it 
he  could  not  even  see  his  own  outstretched  hand. 
The  water  extended  under  the  wire  entanglement 
as  far  as  he  could  reach,  and  farther. 

Slowly  it  dawned  upon  the  French  Canadian  that 
he  had  come  upon  an  abandoned  sap  into  which  the 

276 


THE  PATROL 

moisture  of  the  low-lying  bottom  had  seeped  until 
it  filled  the  ditch  almost  to  the  top.  It  was  not  the 
first  one  of  its  kind  that  he  had  become  acquainted 
with.  More  than  three  precious  minutes  had  he 
spent  blindly  exploring  the  sap  with  his  hands  be- 
fore the  truth  dawned  upon  him.  | 

He  gathered  up  the  slack  of  the  cord  and  pulled 
upon  it  gently.  In  another  moment  Ralph  had 
silently  wriggled  up  alongside  of  him.  Baptiste  felt 
for  the  lieutenant's  hand  and  quietly  guided  it  to 
the  edge  of  the  sap.  When  Ralph  felt  his  hand 
touch  the  water  he  demanded  in  a  very  cautious 
whisper: 

"What  is  it?" 

"  One  ole  sap  full  up  wiz  water,"  breathed  Bap- 
tiste in  his  ear.     "  I  go  see  where  she  go,  sir!  " 

So  saying  the  hardy  fellow  slipped  over  the  edge 
and  down  into  the  icy  cold  water  that  arose  almost 
to  his  chin.  Without  a  sound  in  an  instant  he  had 
disappeared  from  Ralph's  sight  and  touch.  The 
latter  signaled  for  the  other  two  members  of  the 
patrol  to  approach,  and  as  each  came  up  beside  him, 
he  signified  that  they  were  to  rest  quiet  there. 

For  some  minutes  that  seemed  an  age,  especially 
to  Chuck  and  the  sergeant,  who  had  not  the  faintest 
inkling  of  what  was  really  taking  place,  they  lay 
there  again  as  quiet  and  motionless  as  sand-bags. 
An  almost  imperceptible  rippling  of  the  water  un- 

277 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMY 

der  their  very  noses  at  length  announced  the  daring 
explorer's  safe  return. 

Baptiste  clambered  out  of  the  water-logged  sap 
and  whispered  to  Lieutenant  Storm: 

"  She  go  right  thru — jus'  de  same  lak  dis  on  de 
oder  side ;  for  get  in  an'  out  dat's  good  for  sure ! " 

Ralph  Storm  was  quick  to  see  that  the  object  of 
his  patrol  had  been  accomplished,  and  most  suc- 
cessfully, too.  No  better  passage  through  the 
enemy's  wire  could  he  wish  than  that  abandoned 
and  apparently  forgotten  sap.  The  enemy  would 
never  look  for  their  coming  by  that  way. 

"  Let  us  go  back !  "  he  whispered  in  the  ear  of  the 
wondering  Lieutenant  Barrows. 

And  then  to  Sergeant  Hayes,  "  Tie  a  knot  in 
your  tape  right  here,  Sergeant,  and  gather  it  up 
as  you  come  along." 

Slowly  they  made  their  return  journey  just  as 
they  had  come,  following  the  tape  more  by  feel  than 
sight.  In  exactly  forty  minutes  from  the  time  they 
had  gone  over  the  top,  like  four  shadows  they 
dropped  into  their  own  fire-trench  again. 

Wiggler,  who  had  all  the  time  been  faithfully  and 
anxiously  watching  there  for  their  return,  at  once 
scurried  off  to  announce  the  welcome  fact  to  Cap- 
tain Forbes,  and  the  word,  "  patrol  in,"  was 
quickly  passed  along  the  trench  from  bay  to  bay. 


278 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  COLONEL  AGREES 

"TJie  gunners  will  clean  them  at  dawning. 
And  slumber  beside  tJiem  all  day, 
But  the  guns  chant  a  chorus  at  sunset. 
And  then  you  should  hear  what  they  say," 

When  the  patrol  got  back  to  the  village  behind 
the  lines  again  it  was  nearly  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning. 

So  as  not  to  awaken  Second  Lieutenant  Logan 
of  his  platoon,  who  shared  the  billet  with  him,  nor 
disturb  its  rightful  French  owners,  who  slept  in  the 
loft  above  that  was  reached  by  a  stationary  ladder, 
Ralph  Storm  softly  pushed  open  the  kitchen  door 
of  the  chaumiere,  and  noiselessly  glided  over  the 
threshold.  Gently  closing  the  door  behind  him  he 
flashed  on  his  electric  torch  that  he  might  avoid  any 
misplaced  chair  or  other  obstacle  that  should  per- 
chance be  between  him  and  his  bed  over  against  the 
wall  of  the  kitchen  to  his  left. 

Casually,  without  any  definite  reason  for  so  do- 
ing, he  turned  the  tiny  spot-light  on  the  sleeper 
whose  regular  deep  breathing  could  be  heard  from 
the  opposite  side  of  the  kitchen.     One  glance,  and 

279 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  5.  ^RMT 

with  a  sudden  start  of  surprise  he  shut  off  the 
narrow  shaft  of  light  more  quickly  than  he  had 
turned  it  on.  The  slender  beam  had  revealed,  not 
the  countenance  as  he  had  expected  of  Lieutenant 
Logan,  but  that  of  his  friend.  Big  Van. 

Ralph  understood  the  situation  at  once.  Lieu- 
tenant Van  Home  had  arrived  at  regimental  head- 
quarters too  late  to  be  assigned  to  a  regular  billet  of 
his  own  and  Lieutenant  Logan,  knowing  that  Van 
and  he  were  old  friends,  had  offered  to  give  up  his 
bed  for  the  night  to  the  newcomer,  and  had  betaken 
himself  off  to  share  some  one  else's  quarters. 

To  say  that  Ralph  was  delighted  to  have  Rod 
Van  Home  back  with  hun  again  would  be  to  ex- 
press it  mildly  indeed.  And  yet,  with  a  soldier's 
consideration  for  the  rest  of  a  sleeping  comrade 
whom  an  unexpected  step  or  voice  might  awaken 
while  the  explosion  of  a  bomb  at  close  quarters 
would  not  disturb  his  slumbers,  Ralph  redoubled 
his  efforts  to  avoid  making  the  least  sound  what- 
ever. With  a  happy  smile  on  his  lips,  and  his 
glance  always  turned  toward  the  sleeper,  whom  he 
could  not  see  at  all  across  the  absolute  darkness  of 
the  room,  as  quietly  as  any  mouse  he  drew  off  his 
boots  and  coat,  and  stretched  himself  out  on  his 
own  bed.  But  what  a  good  old  talk  they  would 
have  in  the  morning!  Still  smiling  contentedly, 
Ralph  was  sound  asleep  in  half  a  minute. 

280 


THE  COLONEL  AGREES 

He  slept  late  that  morning,  for  no  bugles  blew 
reveille  in  the  tiny  village  where  the  officers  of  his 
company  alone  were  billeted.  Realizing  at  once 
on  awaking  that  he  had  overslept,  with  a  start  he 
sat  up  in  his  bed  and  glanced  across  the  room  at 
the  couch  opposite.  He  gave  vent  to  a  sudden  ex- 
clamation of  vexation;  the  couch  was  empty. 

Then  observing  that  a  morsel  of  paper  was 
pinned  to  the  back  of  his  coat,  which  had  been 
thoughtfully  picked  from  the  floor  where  he  had 
dropped  it  and  carefully  draped  over  a  chair,  he 
sprang  from  the  bed  half-dressed  as  he  already  was 
and  reached  for  the  paper. 

The  expression  of  annoyance  vanished  from  his 
countenance  and  gave  place  to  a  broad  smile  of 
pleasure  as  he  perused  the  brief  note  penciled  in 
Big  Vari's  old  familiar  schoolboy  scrawl, 

"  Good-morning,  son! "  it  read.  "  Have  to  re- 
port up  at  the  P.  C.  right  after  morning  chow,  and 
so  will  not  disturb  your  beauty  sleep,  old  dear.  See 
you  later  to-day.  And  don't  forget  to  wash  your 
face  and  ears  before  you  go  out  this  morning. 
Van." 

Ralph  picked  up  his  soldier's  mirror  of  bright 
steel  that  lay  on  the  table  near.  His  smile  became 
a  grin  from  ear  to  ear  when  he  looked  into  it.  From 
forehead  to  chin  his  face  was  streaked  and  splotched 
with  mud,  the  result  of  lying  again  and  again  with 

281 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

his  face  close  pressed  to  the  damp  soil  and  dewy 
grass  of  No  Man's  Land.  The  grin  became  a 
smile  again  and  his  eyes  took  on  a  tender  light  in 
their  deep  blue  depths  as  he  realized  that  Van  had 
shown  the  same  careful  consideration  for  him,  that 
he  himself  had  evidenced  for  the  former  but  a  few 
hours  earlier. 

Not  till  his  platoon  had  knocked  off  work  at  mid- 
day, when  the  usual  two  hours  allotted  to  the  sol- 
dier for  dinner  and  rest  came,  did  Lieutenant  Storm 
again  find  time  to  think  of  looking  up  his  old 
chum.  Then  without  delay  he  began  to  make  his 
way  by  a  short  cut  across  the  fields  up  to  the  regi- 
mental post  of  command  where  there  was  scheduled 
for  that  afternoon  a  meeting  of  all  the  officers  of 
the  regiment,  to  discuss  the  proposed  raid  and 
to  report  the  progress  of  all  preparations  there- 
for. 

Drawing  near  the  cellar  dugout  in  which  the 
P.  C.  was  located  he  perceived  Wiggler  seated  on 
an  empty  hand-grenade  box  not  far  from  the  dug- 
out entrance  and  gazing  intently  toward  it,  as  if 
patiently  and  momentarily  awaiting  for  some  one 
to  emerge  therefrom. 

"  The  youngster  must  know  that  Van  is  inside," 
mused  Storm.     "  I  wonder  if  they  have  met  yet." 

And  he  smiled  reminiscently  as  he  recalled  how 
at  their  old  school  Big  Van  had  sometimes  been 

282 


THE  COLONEL  AGREES 

called  "  The  King  of  the  Kids,"  because  of  his  big 
brotherly  care  for  the  little  fellows  there. 

In  his  eagerness  to  meet  Big  Van,  Ralph  was 
about  to  pass  the  young  runner  with  but  a  friendly 
greeting  in  passing.  But  a  second  thought,  that 
was  itself  due  to  the  presence  of  their  mutual  friend. 
Rod  Van  Home,  in  the  neighborhood  caused  him  to 
halt  in  front  of  Wiggler,  as  the  latter  sprang  to 
attention  and  saluted. 

The  night  previous  as  they  were  making  their 
way  back  along  the  communication  trench  the  boy 
in  the  course  of  their  conversation  had  just  ob- 
served with  some  eagerness  in  reply  to  a  remark 
of  Ralph's  concerning  the  old  days  at  Dale  Acad- 
emy, that  there  was  still  another  one  of  their  former 
schoolmates  located  down  in  that  sector  of  the  Lor- 
raine Front,  when  a  stray  whizz-bang,  exploding 
with  startling  suddenness  in  their  near  vicinity,  had 
caused  him  to  break  off  in  the  middle  of  a  word 
with  the  usual  warning  cry  "Flat!"  At  which 
exclamation  every  man  jack  of  the  little  patrol  had 
flung  himself  on  his  face  in  the  slimy  ooze  of  the 
trench  floor. 

Their  conversation  a  few  minutes  later  had  not 
been  resumed  at  the  same  point  where  it  had  been 
interrupted,  and  for  the  time  being  Ralph  had  quite 
forgotten  the  matter. 

But  he  knew  that  Big  Van  would  be  more  than 

283 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMr 

interested  to  learn  of  another  one  of  the  old  Dale 
boys  being  in  the  neighborhood.  So  after  return- 
ing Wiggier's  smart  salute,  and  bidding  him  a 
friendly  good-morning  as  well,  Ralph  at  once 
queried : 

"  You  were  just  going  to  tell  me  about  another 
one  of  the  fellows  from  the  old  school  who  was  out 
here  too,  Matson,  when  that  shell  last  night  knocked 
that  subject  out  of  our  two  heads  altogether.  Who 
was  it? " 

"Did  you  know  that  Big  Van  was  here?"  re- 
turned Wiggler  eagerly  and  irrelevantly,  and  quite 
ignoring  Lieutenant  Storm's  question. 

"  Yes,"  smiled  Ralph.  "  Have  you  seen  him 
yet?" 

"  Well  I  should  say,"  answered  Wiggler.  "And, 
say,  Storm,  doesn't  he  look  just  fine ! 

"  It's  the  first  time  I  have  ever  seen  him  as  a 
soldier,  you  know,"  he  went  on,  "  and  I  do  believe 
he's  taller  than  ever;  he's  straighter  than  ever,  any- 
how. And  I  am  quite  certain  that  he's  stronger 
than  ever,  too." 

"What  makes  you  think  so?"  laughed  Storm, 
amused  and  pleased  at  the  boy's  enthusiastic  praise 
of  his  best  friend. 

"  Has  he  been  giving  you  a  free  exhibition  of  his 
great  strength  already? " 

"  I    should    say    he    has,"    rejoined    Wiggler, 

284 


THE  COLONEL  AGREES 

"  though  he  didn't  mean  it  that  way.     And  he  had 
all  the  men  around  laughing  at  me,  too. 

"  He  recognized  me  right  away,  even  before  I 
spoke  to  him,"  the  lad  ran  on. 

"  I  didn't  know  he  had  arrived  yet,  you  know.  I 
was  just  coming  out  of  the  P.  C.  as  he  swung 
around  that  piece  of  broken  wall  over  there,  and  I 
was  so  flabbergasted  that  I  didn't  even  try  to  salute 
him;  I  just  halted  right  there  in  my  tracks  and 
stared  up  at  him  with  my  mouth  open  for  a  second. 

"And  then  recollecting  myself  I  saluted  as  Van 
turned  his  eyes  squarely  on  me.  He  was  just  about 
to  return  my  salute,  too — just  the  same  as  he  would 
that  of  any  other  soldier.  But  when  he  saw  who 
I  really  was,  do  you  know.  Storm,  he  just  grabbed 
me  by  both  arms  in  those  big  fists  of  his,  and  lifted 
me  squarely  up  in  front  of  him  till  my  face  was 
right  level  with  his — for  just  a  jiffy,  Storm,  I  was 
scared  most  to  death  lest  he  was  going  to  kiss  me 
right  before  the  men  there  like  the  poilus  do  to  each 
other.  But  he  didn't;  he  just  said,  as  he  held  me 
up  there  in  front  of  him,  as  if  I  were  no  heavier  than 
a  baby,  *  Well,  well,  if  it  ain't  little  Wiggler  Mat- 
son!'  And  then  he  gave  me  a  kind  of  a  little 
shake — to  see  if  I  were  real  or  not,  I  guess. 

"  The  men  standing  around  began  to  laugh,  and 
then  Van,  smiling  that  funny  little  smile  of  his,  set 
me  down  on  my  feet  again." 

285 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMY 

Ralph  laughed  heartily  at  the  youngster's  whun- 
sical  description  of  the  incident;  it  was  so  like  Big 
Van. 

Then  Wiggler  concluded  proudly,  "  He  told  me 
to  stick  around  till  he  came  out  again.  He  expects 
to  go  up  the  line  as  soon  as  he  gets  through  in 
there,  and  he  is  going  to  ask  that  I  be  detailed  to 
show  him  the  way.  And,  say.  Storm,  when  he  left 
me  the  fellows  all  gathered  around  to  ask  me  who 
my  big  officer  friend  was.  You  don't  know  how 
glad  I  am.  Storm,  that  you  two  fellows  happened  to 
get  into  our  regiment !  " 

"  Thanks,  it's  very  nice  of  you  to  say  that, 
Wiggler,  I  am  sure;  but  you  haven't  answered  my 
first  question  yet.  I  asked  who  is  the  other  fellow 
from  the  old  school,  now  down  here?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  beg  your  pardon.  Storm.  It's 
I^awson — Shorty  Lawson,  you  know.  He's  in 
charge  of  the  field  battery  back  there,  that  covers 
our  battalion  and  the  other  one  on  our " 

"What's  that  you  say?  Shorty  Lawson !  Why, 
it  must  have  been  him  I  saw  working  those  guns  by 
the  roadside  on  my  way  up  here  the  other  day! " 
exclaimed  Ralph. 

"  Yes,  and  he's  some  artillery  officer,  too,  believe 
me! "  rejoined  Wiggler. 

"  Why,  they  say  that  he  can  put  a  shell  from  one 
of  those  seventy-fives  of  his  back  there  on  any 

286 


THE  COLONEL  AGREES 

square  yard  he  wishes  to,  four  miles  away,"  pur- 
sued the  enthusiastic  runner. 

"  Have  you  met  him  yet?  I  mean,  have  you 
spoken  to  him?  "  demanded  Storm. 

"  No,  you  know  I  didn't  want  any  one  from  the 
old  school  to  know  that  I  was  here.  That  is  to  say, 
not  until  you  told  me  that  my  brothers  didn't  in- 
tend to  take  me  out  of  the  army  if  they  found 
me. 

"  But  you  can  just  bet  I'll  speak  to  him  the  next 
time  I  get  a  chance.  Why,  on  two  different  occa- 
sions I  was  about  to  be  sent  back  with  a  message  to 
him;  but  I  always  managed  to  wiggle  out  of  it 
some  way  or  other."  And  Wiggler  grinned  at  the 
recollection. 

"  We'll  all  be  glad  to  see  old  Shorty  again,"  said 
Ralph. 

"  But  I  must  be  going  inside  now.  I'll  see  you 
again  when  I  come  out,  Wiggler,  for  it's  just  pos- 
sible that  I'll  be  going  up  the  line  with  Van  this 
afternoon  also." 

So  saying  he  turned  away  and  entered  the  head- 
quarters dugout.  Inside  he  and  Van  had  oppor- 
tunity for  a  brief  greeting  and  a  warm  hand-clasp 
only.  Serious  discussion  was  afoot  there*  All  the 
officers  were  not  yet  present ;  but  each  of  them  who 
had  already  arrived  at  the  rendezvous  had  been 
able,  each  in  his  turn,  to  report  his  appointed  share 

287 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

in  the  preparations  for  the  raid  as  quite  complete, 
and  ready  for  "  zero  "  hour. 

As  Lieutenant  Storm  entered  the  Post  of  Com- 
mand Colonel  Richards  was  observing: 

"  It  may  have  seemed  a  little  strange  to  some  of 
you  gentlemen  that  we  should  be  about  to  under- 
take an  operation,  that  for  us  at  least  is  of  no  in- 
considerable proportions,  without  some  artillery 
preparation  or  at  least  cooperation." 

The  meaning  side  glances  which  one  or  two  of 
his  officers  cast  at  each  other  showed  the  C.  O.  that 
he  was  not  far  astray  in  this  surmise. 

"  But  the  fact  of  the  matter  is,  gentlemen,"  he 
went  on,  "  that  D.  H.  Q.'  is  loath  to  have  us  take 
the  offensive  as  yet  in  any  but  very  minor  opera- 
tions ;  and  I  make  no  doubt  they  have  very  excellent 
reasons  for  employing  these  Fabian  tactics  in  most 
instances." 

Colonel  Richards  cleared  his  throat,  and  with  a 
dry  and  meaning  smile  that  conveyed  an  additional 
shade  of  meaning  to  his  otherwise  conversational 
tones : 

"  Knowing  as  I  do  their  attitude  in  this  respect, 
I  feared  that  if  I  asked  for  the  cooperation  of  the 
heavy  artillery — and  shrapnel  from  the  field  guns, 
as  you  all  well  know,  is  little  better  than  so  many 
hailstones  against  the  enemy's  barb-wire — D.  H.  Q*, 

*  Divisional  Headquarters. 
288 


THE  COLONEL  AGREES 

not  being  on  the  spot,  might  exaggerate  the  diffi- 
culty and  magnitude  of  the  operation,  and  refuse 
altogether  to  allow  us  to  put  on  our  little  show. 

"  In  fact,"  he  went  on,  "  I  left  them  with  the  im- 
pression that  the  raid  is  to  be  merely — and  that 
after  all  is  its  main  objective — a  diversion  in  order 
to  permit  of  our  straightening  out  and  shortening 
up  our  front. 

"  Nevertheless  it  is  my  intention  to  ask  personally 
for  a  certain  amount  of  active  cooperation  from  the 
battery  commander  in  our  immediate  rear.  To 
what  extent  the  latter  may  be  willing  to  assist  us 
will  rest  pretty  much  with  himself. 

"  I  shall  get  in  touch  with  him  this  afternoon. 
He  is  allotted  a  daily  ration  of  shell,  to  distribute 
as  he  deems  most  advisable  over  the  section  of  the 
enemy  line  for  which  he  is  responsible.  If  I  can 
induce  him  from  now  on  to  concentrate  his  fire 
more  or  less  upon  the  enemy's  obstacles  immedi- 
ately in  front  of  their  salient  and  machine-gun 
positions  it  will  doubtless  have  the  effect  of  putting 
their  wind  up  a  bit,  and  lead  them  to  think  that  we 
are  trying  to  tear  a  path  through  their  wire  in  order 
to  make  a  frontal  attack  on  the  salient  itself. 

"And  then,"  pursued  Colonel  Richards,  his  eyes 
beginning  to  glow  with  the  light  of  battle,  "  if  we 
can  in  addition  prevail  on  the  battery  commander  to 
deliver  a  three-minute  box  barrage  upon  the  salient 

289 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

from  all  five  of  his  guns  after  our  men  are  deployed 
in  the  positions  assigned  to  them,  and  immediately 
before  the  signal  to  rush  the  hostile  trench  is  given, 
it  may  be  the  means  of  reducing  our  casualties  con- 
siderably, as  well  as  diverting  the  enemy's  attention 
from  the  real  points  of  assault. 

"  What  do  you  think,  gentlemen? "  the  colonel 
concluded. 

From  his  listeners  there  came  a  general  murmur 
of  approbation. 

"Are  any  of  you  gentlemen  acquainted  with  the 
officer  in  command  of  the  battery?  Lawson,  I 
think  his  name  is?  "  demanded  Colonel  Richards. 

Ralph  pricked  up  his  ears  on  hearing  this  ques- 
tion, and  to  the  surprise  of  Big  Van,  beside  whom 
he  was  standing,  pinched  the  latter's  arm  forcibly. 
Van  was  not  then  aware  that  the  artillery  officer 
under  discussion  was  none  other  than  their  old 
school  friend,  "  Shorty." 

As  no  other  officer  made  as  if  to  reply  to  the 
colonel's  query,  Ralph  answered  in  a  diffident  and 
respectful  tone: 

"  I  have  reason  to  believe,  sir,  that  the  artillery 
officer  you  have  just  mentioned  is  a  former  school- 
mate of  my  own  and  Lieutenant  Van  Home's  here. 
I  learned  that  such  was  the  case  but  a  few  minutes 
before  I  came  in  here." 

"  Good ! "  exclaimed  Colonel  Richards,  his  fine 

290 


THE  COLONEL  AGREES 

stern  face  cracking  into  a  pleasant  smile  again. 
"  I  hope  you  were  formerly  on  good  terms  with  him, 
gentlemen? " 

"  On  the  very  best  of  terms,  sir,"  responded 
Storm.  "And  he  was  a  particularly  intimate 
friend  of  Lieutenant  Van  Home's." 

"  This  is  indeed  fortunate,  and  I  think  you  will 
agree  with  me,  gentlemen,"  addressing  his  officers 
generally  once  more,  "  that  it  is  up  to  Lieutenants 
Van  Home  and  Storm  to  turn  the  trick  for  us." 

Then  again  turning  to  Ralph  and  Van  he  de- 
manded, "  May  we  depend  upon  you  two  for  this?  " 

"  I  think  so,  sir,"  replied  Ralph. 

"  Shorty  Lawson  had  better  not  refuse  us,"  said 
Big  Van  impulsively,  and  innocently  forgetting  for 
the  moment  the  august  presence  in  which  he  stood, 
and  at  once  blushing  furiously  for  what  he  consid- 
ered "  un  faux  pas." 

That  his  boyish  remark  was  not  considered  a  false 
step  on  his  part,  however,  the  rest  of  the  officers, 
the  colonel  included,  showed  by  their  amused  and 
approving  smiles. 

"  Very  good !  Excellent,  I  should  say,"  rejoined 
the  colonel,  regarding  the  abashed  Lieutenant  Van 
Home  with  an  amused  and  friendly  twinkle  in  his 
keen  eyes. 

"  We'll  depend  on  you  two  young  gentlemen, 
then.     You  had  better  interview  your  friend  Law- 

291 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

son  this  afternoon,  both  of  you.  Report  results  to 
me  this  evening." 

The  full  complement  of  regimental  officers  hav- 
ing arrived  during  the  course  of  the  discussion,  and 
all  necessary  preparations  having  been  reported  as 
completed,  it  was  decided  that  the  raid  should  take 
place  the  following  night. 

"  Zero,"  or  the  exact  minute  for  the  assault  to 
begin,  would  be  determined  by  the  C.  O.  later,  after 
receiving  the  report  of  his  two  emissaries  to  the 
battery  commander  in  their  rear,  and  would  then 
be  communicated  to  the  Company  O.  C.'s. 

Before  leaving  the  P.  C.  dugout  Big  Van  did  not 
forget  to  inform  the  adjutant  that  the  latter's 
favorite  runner,  young  Matson,  was  also  a  former 
schoolmate  of  his  and  Ralph's,  and  to  ask  that 
Wiggler  should  be  detailed  to  conduct  them  back 
to  the  battery  position  behind  the  lines. 

The  adjutant  readily  granted  Van's  request,  say- 
ing laughingly: 

"  If  the  remainder  of  the  boys  of  Dale  Academy 
are  anything  like  the  specimens  with  which  we  are 
already  acquainted,  I  can  only  hope  that  you  two 
boys  may  find  more  of  your  old  friends  down  here 
in  Lorraine." 


292 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  RAID 

**Ee  stands  on  fhe  fire-step  in  the  darkness, 
Haunted  with  the  intense 

Hush  that  had  fallen  around  him,  and  the  starkness. 
The  emptiness,  the  suspense. 

''This  night — in  one  hour,  at  the  time  marked  'Zero,' 
He  with  the  rest  across 
That  pitted  desolation,  as  coward  or  hero. 
Must  charge  for  gain  or  loss.'* 

— Any  Soldier. 

Ralph  Stoem  and  Rod  Van  Home,  guided  by 
the  untirable  Wiggler,  less  than  an  hour  later  that 
afternoon  found  Lieutenant  Lawson,  in  command 
of  the  battery  of  French  seventy-fives — those  field- 
guns  without  peer  for  close  barrage  work  or  open 
country  fighting,  seated  beneath  the  overhangmg 
shelter  of  the  camouflaged  canvas  cover  of  one  of 
his  "pets."  As  they  drew  near.  Shorty,  with  a 
merry  grin  on  his  keen  young  face,  was  reading  a 
letter  which  he  held  in  his  right  hand.  In  his  left 
hand  he  held  what  the  boys  at  first  sight  took  to  be 
a  pair  of  new  woolen  gloves.  So  absorbed  was  he 
in  his  letter  that  he  took  no  note  of  their  approach. 

293 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

But  when  the  trio  halted  in  front  of  his  shelter 
he  looked  up  inquiringly.  An  instant  only  Shorty 
gazed  mutely  up  at  the  three  boys  who  stood  silently 
smiling  down  upon  him. 

Then  abruptly  dropping  the  articles  which  he 
had  been  holding  in  his  hands,  with  a  loud  wild 
shout  of  astonished  recognition  the  youthful  battery 
commander  sprang  to  his  feet  and  rushed  at  Big 
Van,  who  was  the  nearest  to  him.  A  sergeant 
poked  his  head  curiously  about  the  corner  of  the 
shelter,  and  Shorty,  bethinking  himself,  endeavored 
to  resume  his  wonted  dignity  of  bearing  when  in 
the  presence  of  his  men. 

His  greeting  to  those  three  old  friends  of  his 
nevertheless  was  all  that  they  could  wish  for.  One 
after  another  he  shook  each  of  them  heartily  by  the 
hand,  calling  them  joyously  by  their  old  school 
nicknames.  Then  all  four  began  to  laugh  and  talk 
at  the  same  time,  each  asking  questions  which  none 
took  the  trouble  to  answer.  The  sergeant  who  had 
poked  his  head  around  the  corner  of  the  shelter 
allowed  it  to  remain  there,  and  smiled  broadly  in  un- 
comprehending sympathy  with  their  joy. 

Van,  who  in  the  meantime  with  his  customary 
thoughtfulness  had  picked  up  the  articles  which 
Shorty  had  dropped  upon  the  ground — the  woolen 
things  proving,  to  the  big  fellow's  quiet  amuse- 
ment, to  be  a  pair  of  warm  and  dainty  bed-socks — 

294 


THE  RAID 

was  the  first  to  remember  the  errand  on  which  they 
had  come. 

With  a  faint  smile,  as  he  held  out  the  letter  and 
bed-socks,  Big  Van  began: 

"  But,  Shorty,  in  our  joy  at  meeting  you  we  three 
are  quite  forgetting  that  we  are  here  on  business 
as  well  as  pleasure." 

"  That  so?  "  queried  the  battery  commander  with 
a  surprised  elevation  of  his  eyebrows.  And  then 
glancing  down  at  the  articles  he  had  just  taken  from 
Van's  extended  hand  he  again  began  to  chuckle 
merrily,  saying: 

"  I  say,  fellows,  lamp  the  foot-warmers !  I've 
just  received  a  box  from  one  of  my  maiden  aunts 
in  little  old  Ogdensburg,  N.  Y.  I  was  just  read- 
ing her  letter,  bless  her  dear  old  heart,  when  you 
fellows  came  up.  Among  other  good  things  she 
sent  me  these  " — indicating  the  bed-socks  in  his 
hand — "  and  a  pair  of  pink  silk  pajamas,  and  in  her 
letter  she  enjoins  me  most  pathetically  to  be  sure 
to  wear  the  foot-warmers  every  night  without  fail — 
ha,  ha,  ha! — me  that  hasn't  had  my  blessed  breeches 
off  for  more  than  a  week.  That's  what  I  was 
giggling  over  when  you  fellows  arrived." 

Then  all  at  once  becoming  pretematurally  seri- 
ous again,  he  resumed,  "  But  you  were  saying  some- 
thing about  business.  Van.     What  did  you  mean?  " 

The  two  young  officers  then  told  of  the  errand 

295 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

upon  which  Colonel  Richards  had  dispatched  them. 
They  entered  enthusiastically  into  all  the  details  of 
the  projected  raid.  Shorty  listened  attentively, 
saying  but  little  till  they  had  finished,  and  then 
merely  and  emphatically: 

"  You  just  bet  I'll  help,  fellows,  and  all  I  can, 
too.  I  have  always  held  over  a  surplus  of  shell 
from  day  to  day,  hoping  that  just  some  such  an 
extraordinary  occasion  as  this  should  arise  for  them. 
They  are  heartily  at  the  service  of  your  C.  O.  and 
all  the  rest  I  can  spare,  likewise. 

"  I'll  go  right  up  the  line  this  very  afternoon. 
We've  already  got  that  salient  spotted  on  our  range 
card,  and  I  give  them  a  gentle  hint  to  keep  their 
heads  down  thereabouts  two  or  three  times  every 
day.  But  that's  about  all  it  amounts  to,  as  my 
shell  are  too  light  to  produce  much  effect  on  the 
solid  concrete  of  that  machine-gun  emplacement. 

"  However,  I'll  get  an  accurate  line  on  their  wire 
in  front  of  it  this  afternoon  as  well.  Don't  you 
worry!  I'll  get  Fritz's  wind  up  for  you  all  right, 
if  that's  all  you  want. 

"  Let's  go  over  to  my  dugout  for  a  few  minutes," 
he  rattled  on.  "As  soon  as  I  have  put  Dicky 
Jones — my  second  in  command — wise,  I'll  go  back 
with  you  to  see  your  colonel." 

Two  hours  later  the  four  friends — for  Wiggler 
had  been  allowed  to  accompany  the  three  young 

296 


THE  RAID 

officers,  although  Shorty  knew  the  way  up  just  as 
well  as  he  did — were  ensconced  in  the  listening  jDost 
out  in  No  Man's  Land  at  the  head  of  the  under- 
ground sap  that  has  already  been  described. 

The  two  lookouts  who  were  usually  there  had 
been  displaced.  In  its  cramped  space,  in  addition 
to  the  quartet  of  old  school  friends,  were  two  skilled 
mechanics  from  the  Signal  Corps  busily  rigging  up 
a  field  telephone  that  had  already  been  connected 
with  the  ComiDany  P.  C.  in  the  support  trenches, 
whence  the  line  led  direct  to  the  Regimental  P.  C. 
back  in  the  ruined  French  village,  and  from  there  to 
the  battery  two  miles  or  more  still  further  in  the 
rear.  There  Second  Lieutenant  "  Dicky  "  Jones 
already  listened  patiently  for  the  prearranged 
signals  from  his  commanduig  officer. 

In  twenty  minutes  from  the  time  the  little  party 
had  reached  the  dugout  of  Captain  Forbes  in  the 
support  trenches,  and  had  reported  to  him  what 
was  afoot,  one  of  the  signalers  handed  over  the 
combined  transmitter  and  receiver  to  Shorty  with 
the  low-voiced  remark: 

"All  ready,  sir!     Connection  complete! " 

Shorty  rang  up  Dicky  nearly  four  miles  away, 
and  still  with  his  eyes  glued  to  the  narrow  aperture 
that  looked  out  over  the  hillard,  across  the  forbidden 
road  and  toward  the  hostile  machine-gim  emplace- 
ment that  was  a  thorn  in  the  side  of  doughty  Colonel 

297 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S,  ARMY 

Richards,  spoke  into  the  transmitter  in  a  guarded 
tone: 

"  Fire  number  one  gun  when  you  are  ready!  '^ 

In  four  seconds  exactly  they  heard  the  increas- 
ing crescendo  shriek  of  a  shell  passing  overhead, 
and  almost  immediately  thereafter  its  sharp  explod- 
ing "  slam."  At  the  same  instant  the  breathless 
observers  saw  a  funnel-shaped  cloud  of  smoke  and 
dust  burst  from  the  ground  some  yards  directly 
back  of  the  salient. 

"  Line  of  direction  O.  K.;  elevation  a  bit  high!  " 
murmured  Shorty  half  to  himself,  and  then  to  the 
telephone,  "  Seventy-five  long!  " 

The  next  shell  fell  squarely  into  the  enemy  wire 
directly  in  front  of  the  salient. 

"  Fifty  short!  "  said  Shorty  to  the  telephone,  and 
in  answer — it  seemed  to  the  enthralled  watchers 
almost  as  soon  as  the  young  artillery  officer  spoke — 
the  third  shrapnel  shell  exploded  with  a  sharp 
"  bang  "  and  a  puff  of  soft  white  smoke  right  over 
the  machine-gun  emplacement. 

"All  O.  K.,"  whispered  Shorty  again  to  the  tele- 
phone; "  cease  fire! " 

Then   addressing   the   others    he   said   quietly, 

"  That's  all  for  now.     I'll  give  them  a  good  dose 

shortly  after  dark  to-night.     Dicky  has  the  range 

of  both  the  emplacement  and  the  wire  in  front." 

As  the  others  were  preparing  to  leave  the  listen- 

298 


THE  RAID 

ing  post.  Big  Van,  who  was  still  gazing  intently 
from  the  lookout,  plucked  Ralph  by  the  sleeve. 

"  How  are  you  going  to  get  back  your  casualties, 
Ralph?  "  he  queried  earnestly.  "  You  cannot  drag 
the  wounded  back  through  that  water-filled  sap  that 
you  told  me  about,  coming  up." 

Ralph's  face  fell,  and  he  flushed  painfully;  but 
he  was  manly  enough  to  answer: 

"  Thank  you,  Van!     I  hadn't  thought  of  that." 

And  he  too  resumed  his  post  at  the  lookout  again, 
as  also  did  Lieutenant  Lawson. 

The  latter  fixed  his  gaze  thoughtfully  on  the  spot 
where  the  second  shell  had  fallen,  and  after  a  mo- 
ment observed  slowly: 

"  I  can  tear  that  wire  up  pretty  well;  but  though 
loosened  it  will  still  be  a  tangled  mass  close  to  the 
ground.  I  would  suggest  that  a  special  party  be 
organized  to  cut  a  clearance  through  while  you  fel- 
lows are  rushing  the  trench  and  salient.  The  wire 
will  be  pretty  well  loosened  up  when  I  get  through 
with  it,  and  the  rest  should  not  be  difficult." 

"  The  very  thing! "  rejoined  Ralph  with  a  sigh 
of  relief. 

"  We'll  suggest  it  to  the  C.  O.  on  our  way  back. 
That  way  will  do,  too,  for  both  platoons  to  make  a 
quick  get-away  when  the  job's  done." 

Back  in  the  fire-trench  they  waited  at  the  en- 
trance to  the  sap  for  the  signalers  to  follow  them 

299 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

with  the  telephone,  the  wire  of  which  they  were  coil- 
ing up  as  they  crept  back.  Shorty  wished  to  give 
them  some  further  instructions  about  the  tele- 
phone. 

Wiggler  climbed  upon  the  fire-step  for  a  parting 
glance  through  a  periscope  that  leaned  idly  against 
the  parapet  near  by.  One  glance  into  the  mirror 
and  he  cried  aloud  excitedly,  "  Look,  look,  fellows! 
A  fight  in  the  air!  There's  a  dozen  of  the  yellow 
dogs  at  only  one  of  our  fellows ! " 

All  three  of  his  hearers,  regardless  o^  the  danger 
they  invited  from  the  enemy's  snipers,  le£.;ied  upon 
the  "  banquette  "  *  and  began  to  peer  boldly  over 
the  sand-bags.  No  bullets  came  their  way,  however. 
The  enemy  was  just  then  no  doubt  as  interested  as 
they  in  the  thrilling  spectacle  presented  high  in  the 
air  above  them. 

A  daring  "  solo "  patrol,  flying  low  over  the 
enemy's  trenches  and  back  areas,  had  suddenly  been 
attacked  from  the  heavy  clouds  high  above  him  by 
several  German  planes,  and  the  lone  pilot  was  mak- 
ing a  plucky  running  fight  of  it  back  to  the  shelter 
of  his  own  anti-aircraft  guns  concealed  in  the  Amer- 
ican trenches.  Even  before  the  attention  of  the 
boys  had  been  drawn  to  him  he  had  already  brought 
down  two  of  the  Boches. 

But  he  was  hard  pressed.     His  observer  had  been 

*  Banquette:  French  for  fire-step. 
300 


HE  S  TRYING  FOR  A  LANDING 


THE  RAID 

wounded  to  death  early  in  the  fight,  and  he  him- 
self had  a  bullet  in  his  thigh. 

As  the  whirling  fight  drew  swiftly  nearer  the 
boys  on  the  fire-step,  exposing  themselves  regard- 
lessly,  were  soon  able  to  make  out  that  the  Boche 
squadron  consisted  of  six  Pfalz  scouts  and  one 
German  triplane.  In  the  midst  of  the  whirling 
and  darting  manoeuvres  they  saw  the  triplane  sud- 
denly take  fire.  Its  wings  dropped  off  and  it  fell 
toward  the  ground,  turning  over  and  over  end  for 
end  as  it  fell. 

Then  one  wing  of  the  lone  patrol's  machine  also 
burst  into  flame.  The  battered  and  blazing  plane 
began  to  drop  and  drop,  but  it  always  came  on 
nearer  and  nearer  the  American  lines.  Like  the 
cowards  that  they  were  the  Hun  flyers  gave  up  the 
chase,  when  they  thought  themselves  getting  within 
range  of  the  Yankee  guns. 

"  He's  trying  for  a  landing  somewhere  along  the 
road,"  said  Lieutenant  Lawson  under  his  breath. 

While  still  high  above  and  over  the  enemy 
trenches  a  bullet  punctured  his  upper  tank,  and 
driven  from  his  seat  by  the  flames,  the  plucky  pilot 
sprang  clear  of  the  fuselage  and  out  to  the  wing 
that  was  as  yet  untouched  by  the  fire,  and  clinging 
to  it  with  both  hands,  endeavored  to  steer  his  ma- 
chine by  swinging  and  swaying  his  body,  and  hand- 
over-handing his  weight  out  and  back  along  the  one 

301 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMr 

remaining  wing,  as  the  balance  of  the  crazily  rock- 
ing plane  demanded. 

The  Hun  rifles  began  to  crack,  and  their  machine 
guns  began  to  sputter.  When  a  little  more  than 
half-way  across  No  Man's  Land,  and  when  still 
some  twenty  feet  above  the  roadway  the  brave  pilot 
abruptly  relaxed  his  hold  and  fell  like  a  plummet 
of  lead. 

The  blazing  plane,  wobbling  crazily  from  side  to 
side,  still  kept  on.  It  hit  the  road  and  rebounded 
with  a  giant  leap  that  carried  it  well  back  of  the 
American  fii'e-trench;  struck  the  road  again  and 
again  rebounded;  swerved  from  the  straight  high- 
way and  landed  nose  down  and  tail  in  the  air  fairly 
in  the  support  trench,  with  its  dead  observer  still 
strapped  to  his  seat. 

When  the  quartet  of  boys  saw  the  pilot  fall  to 
the  road,  the  action  of  each  was  instantaneous. 
Van  and  Ralph,  followed  by  Wiggler,  vaulted  from 
the  fire-step  to  the  parapet,  and  began  a  mad  race 
diagonally  across  the  billard  to  the  spot  where  the 
lone  pilot  had  fallen  upon  the  road  which  the  ma- 
chine guns  of  the  Boche  salient  were  already  sweep- 
ing. 

Shorty  at  tHe  same  time  seized  the  field  telephone 
from  the  signaler  who  had  carried  it  from  the  sap, 
and  who  had  also  mounted  the  fire-step  to  view  the 
duel  in  the  air. 

302 


THE  RAID 

A  quick,  short  command  the  young  artillery- 
officer  called  over  the  'phone. 

Dicky  Jones  was  still  at  his  post  four  miles 
away. 

In  less  than  half  a  minute  shrapnel  from  the 
redoubtable  seventy-fives  began  to  burst  in  front, 
behind,  above  and  all  around  the  machine-gun  posi- 
tion on  the  salient  that  commanded  the  road.  At 
the  same  time  the  American  sharp-shooters  in  the 
trenches  on  both  sides  of  the  road  opened  up  a  mad 
fusillade  of  rapid  fire  upon  the  enemy's  parapet. 

The  Boche  heads  went  down,  and  the  Boche 
machine  guns  ceased  their  chatter  more  abruptly 
than  they  had  begun  it. 

Shorty,  with  the  'phone  still  in  his  hand,  had  eyes 
only  for  his  three  friends.  He  saw  them  scamper 
through  the  hail  of  lead  from  shell  hole  to  shell 
hole,  down  one  side  and  up  another,  and  again  down 
into  another  hole  and  up  again — Wiggler  leading, 
for  he  was  the  fleetest  of  foot — till  they  reached  the 
road  and  kneeled,  all  three  of  them  together,  about 
the  motionless  figure  lying  there. 

And  the  Yankee  rifles  never  ceased  to  crack,  and 
the  shells  never  ceased  to  rain  upon  the  machine- 
gun  positions.  No  Boche  dared  lift  his  head  nor 
leave  his  funk-hole  under  that  sustained  and  terrible 
hail  of  death.  The  Hun  fire  was  completely 
blanketed.  • 

303 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U,  S.  ARMT 

Over  the  'phone  Shorty's  command  had  been, 
"  Battery  rapid  fire !  Centre  on  the  bracket !  Let 
'em  all  go !  " 

And  Dicky  Jones  four  miles  away  would  never 
stop  them  till  further  ordered. 

In  less  than  five  minutes  it  was  all  over  and  done. 
Shorty,  still  grasping  the  telephone  transmitter  in 
his  left  hand,  in  his  eagerness  the  better  to  view  the 
proceedings  of  his  three  friends  out  there  on  the 
road  with  the  fallen  bird-man,  had  climbed  to  the 
top  of  the  sand-bags  of  the  parapet  and  stood  boldly 
erect  there. 

From  this  point  of  vantage  he  saw  Big  Van  stoop 
and  easily  lift  the  inert  figure  that  sprawled  upon 
the  road,  place  it  lightly  over  his  right  shoulder, 
face  downward — Shorty  could  not  help  noting  how 
the  head  and  arms  of  the  man  fell  limply  against 
Van's  broad  back  and  rested  there  helplessly — and 
at  almost  his  usual  top  speed  begin  to  run  along 
the  road  toward  the  spot  where  their  own  fire- 
trench  intersected  it.  Side  by  side,  as  if  trying  to 
shield  with  their  own  smaller  bodies  the  gigantic 
form  of  their  burdened  comrade,  Ralph  and 
Wiggler  raced  behind  him. 

So  fiercely  intense  was  the  blanket  fire  from  the 
battery  of  seventy-fives  and  the  rijfles  in  the  trenches 
that  not  a  single  shot  from  the  enemy  was  fired 
upon  the  retiring  figures  of  the  three  brave  boys. 

304 


THE  RAID 

Shorty  watched  them  till  they  disappeared 
safely  over  the  parapet.  Then,  and  not  till  then, 
he  too  leaped  down  into  the  trench.  Into  the  trans- 
mitter he  called  the  curt  command,  "  Cease  fire! " 
He  then  tossed  the  instrument  to  one  of  the  sig- 
nalers, who  caught  it  deftly,  and  began  to  run 
along  the  trench  in  the  direction  of  the  road  as  fast 
as  he  could  leg  it. 

He  came  upon  Ralph  and  Van  kneeling  beside  a 
recumbent  figure  on  the  duck-boards,  and  swiftly 
and  efficiently  rendering  "  first  aid."  A  corporal 
was  roughly  ordering  back  the  men  who  had  begun 
to  crowd  into  the  fire-bay  from  both  ends.  Wiggler, 
regardless  of  danger  to  himself,  was  already  making 
his  way  by  a  short  cut  overland  to  the  "Aid  Post " 
and  the  M.  O.  in  the  support  trench. 

One  glance  at  the  upturned  face  showing  pale 
and  drawn  from  the  thickness  of  its  aviator's  hood 
of  leather,  and  Shorty  unconsciously  ejaculated  in 
a  low  unbelieving  tone,  glancing  the  meanwhile  at 
Ralph,  who  had  just  looked  up  at  his  coming: 

"  Great  heavens,  it's  the  Duke!  " 

"  Yes,"  replied  Storm  in  a  low  choked  voice,  "  it's 
our  old  friend,  Dick  Fletcher.  And  what  a  meet- 
mg! 

As  if  he  had  really  heard  his  name  uttered  in 
those  old  familiar  tones,  and  had  been  momentarily 
called  back  to  life  thereby,  the  stricken  boy  slowly 

305 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

opened  his  eyes  and  looked  up  into  the  three  faces 
once  so  well  loiown  in  the  long,  long  ago,  and  then 
so  solicitously  bending  over  him.  He  smiled 
faintly,  and  asked  in  a  faltering  whisper,  "  Where — 
where  did  you  fellows  all  come  from? "  His  eyes 
closed  sleepily  then,  and  he  did  not  open  them 
again. 

It  was  a  sad  little  procession  that  followed  the 
stretcher-bearers  down  the  communication  trench 
late  that  afternoon  to  the  "  Dressing  Station  "  lo- 
cated in  just  such  another  cellar  dugout  of  the 
ruined  village  as  that  of  the  Regimental  Post  of 
Command. 

There  they  were  compelled  to  leave  the  Duke  for 
the  time  to  the  tender  care  and  capable  ministra- 
tions of  the  medical  officer  and  his  assistants  of  the 
Army  Medical  Corps.  And  it  was  perhaps  just 
as  well  for  Ralph,  Van,  and  Wiggler  that  just  then 
all  three  of  them  had  plenty  of  work  to  do  in  con- 
nection with  the  raid  to  be  made  on  the  following 
night.  It  taxed  their  immediate  attention,  and 
kept  their  young  minds  from  dwelling  upon  the 
precarious  condition  of  their  old-time  friend,  for 
the  M.  O.  had  as  yet  given  them  no  word  of  en- 
couragement. 

Ralph  had  to  go  out  again  on  patrol  with  Lieu- 
tenant Barrows  that  night  to  reconnoitre  the  part 
of  the  enemy's  wire  and  trench  which  was  to  be 

306 


THE  RAID 

cared  for  by  the  latter's  platoon  on  the  following 
night.  They  were  unable  to  locate  the  entrance  to 
any  passage  through  the  Boche  obstacle  there,  and 
were  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  send  out  a  special  wire-cutting  party  to 
make  a  lane  through  it  an  hour  or  so  before  the  time 
for  the  main  party  to  debouch  from  the  trenches 
into  the  "  billard." 

All  the  following  day  the  projected  raid  was  re- 
hearsed to  the  last  detail  of  the  part  that  each  indi- 
vidual man  and  officer  was  to  play.  The  two  raid- 
ing parties  were  to  consist  of  the  platoons  com- 
manded by  Chuck  Barrows  and  Ralph  respectively. 

For  the  occasion  each  platoon  was  to  be  divided 
up  into  five  sections.  In  Ralph's  platoon  Baptiste 
Trudeau,  the  French  Canadian,  was  to  have  charge 
of  one  of  these  sections,  the  one  that  was  to  run 
along  the  top  of  the  parapet  toward  the  salient, 
hurling  their  deadly  little  Mills  grenades  into  the 
trench  as  they  went.  It  was  preeminently  the  post 
of  danger. 

Another  section,  following  this,  was  to  carry 
slabs  of  gun-cotton  with  which  to  blow  up  the  ma- 
chine-gun position  and  its  guns,  which  would  more 
than  likely  be  chained  to  the  solid  cement.  Still 
another  section  was  made  up  of  bombers  and 
bayonet  men  who  were  to  work  in  both  directions 
along  their  section  of  the  assaulted  trench,  and  who 

307 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 
were  to  carry  on  in  conjunction  with  the  fourth 


Hand  Grenade 

Contact  or  Percussion  Type,  commonly  known  as  the  Mushroom- 
Head  Striker  Grenade. 

A — Three  cloth  streamers  to  balance  grenade  while  passing 
through  the  air,  and  to  cause  it  to  strike  on  the  mushroom 
shaped  head. 

B — Wooden  throwing  handle  with  corrugated  grip  to  keep  it 
from  slipping  through  the  hand. 

C — Explosive  Ammonal,  that  explodes  the  grenade. 

D — Detonator  charged  with  fulminate  of  mercury,  which  sets 
off  "C." 

E — Cartridge  that  explodes  detonator,  "  D." 

F — Safety  pin  with  wire-ring  handle  for  pulling  it  out. 

H — Mushroom-head  Striker  that  explodes  "E,"  when  grenade 
falls. 

I — Cast-iron  Body,  serrated  so  as  to  break  into  small  pieces  on 
exploding. 

Author's  Note. — One  pound  only  of  Explosive  Ammonal 
would  be  quite  sufficient  to  entirely  destroy  the  White  House 
at  Washington. 

section  of  "  moppers,"  whose  duty  it  would  be  to 

308 


THE  RAID 

look  after  the  Boche  dugouts  and  to  erect  "  blocks  " 
at  designated  points. 

The  fifth  section  of  each  of  the  storming  platoons 
was  to  be  for  general  utility  work,  and  to  them 
would  fall  the  grisly  duty  of  carrying  back  the  dead 
and  wounded,  for  it  was  always  a  point  of  honor 
with  the  United  States  soldiers  to  bring  back  their 
dead  as  well  as  their  wounded. 

Each  man  had  his  own  appointed  task,  and  that 
afternoon  when  they  finally  knocked  off  work  for  a 
last  bit — and  the  very  last  bit  it  would  be  for  some 
of  them — of  rest  and  sleep  before  going  up  the  line 
after  nightfall,  every  man  knew  his  work  as  an  actor 
knows  his  role  in  a  play. 

Zero  hour  was  fixed  for  two  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing; long  before  that,  however,  every  man  was  at 
his  appointed  post  in  the  assembly  trenches;  wait- 
ing, waiting,  just  silently  waiting  in  the  damp  dark- 
ness there.  No  commands  would  be  given  when  the 
time  came  to  move  up  to  the  short  scaling  ladders, 
and  thence  over  the  top.  There  would  be  a  quiet 
movement  of  those  in  front  following  the  voiceless 
leadership  of  their  officers,  and  those  in  the  rear 
would  begin  to  move  up  when  they  felt  the  move- 
ment of  those  in  front  of  them. 

To  the  left  of  the  forbidden  road  a  narrow  lane 
through  the  Boche  wire  had  already  been  cut  by  a 
small  party  detailed  from  Lieutenant  Barrows*' 

309 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMr 

platoon  for  that  purpose.  On  both  sides  of  the 
road  lone  scouts  had  been  silently  patrolling  No 
Man's  Land  for  more  than  an  hour,  and  these  had 
laid  lines  of  white  tape  from  the  points  where  the 
two  platoons  were  to  leave  their  own  wire  to  the 
places  from  whence  they  should  begin  to  worm 
their  waj^  stealthil}^  through  the  enemy's  obstacles. 
Since  before  midnight  there  had  been  a  heavy  fog. 
Under  its  protective  cover  the  wire-cutters  and  the 
creeping  patrols  had  been  enabled  to  accomplish 
their  several  tasks  effectively  and  undiscovered. 

Lieutenant  Storm  was  too  busy  to  think  of  any- 
thing but  the  duties  of  the  moment.  Young  Mat- 
son  was  too  elated  to  think  of  anything  but  the  role 
that  had  been  assigned  to  him.  He  was  to  go  over 
the  top  on  the  heels  of  "  Chuck  "  Barrows,  to  re- 
main with  that  doughty  warrior  till  the  latter's 
command  had  made  their  way  through  the  enemy 
wire,  and  had  been  finally  disposed  at  short  inter- 
vals apaii;  prone  upon  the  wet  ground  along  the 
reverse  slope  of  the  hostile  parapet. 

At  a  signal  from  Chuck  he  was  thereupon  to 
make  his  way  across  the  road  separating  the  two 
platoons,  creeping  over  the  perilous  open  stretch 
of  it  between  Hun  parapet  and  wire  as  best  he 
might  till  he  reached  the  left  flank  of  Storm's 
platoon  on  the  other  side  of  the  road. 

When  he  had  delivered  his  message  to  the  effect 

310 


THE  RAID 

that  the  storming  party  on  the  left  of  the  road  was 
in  position  and  ready — which  message  would  then 
be  passed  on  from  man  to  man  till  it  reached  Ralph 
in  the  centre  of  his  platoon — he  was  then  to  make 
his  way  across  the  dark  "  billard  "  to  the  head  of 
the  underground  sap  in  front  of  the  American  wire. 

There  he  would  find  Shorty  Lawson  waiting. 
His  message  to  the  latter  would  be  simply,  "All 
ready,  sir!" 

After  that  there  would  be  nothing  to  do  but  wait 
for  zero  hour. 

Wiggler  was  dancmg  happy;  there  was  no  hap- 
pier lad  in  France  that  night. 

To  make  assurance  doubly  sure  two  other 
runners  at  intervals  of  several  minutes  apart  would 
follow  after  Wiggler,  over  the  same  route,  with  the 
same  messages.  This  precaution  was  always  taken 
lest  one  or  the  other  of  the  runners  should  meet  with 
a  mishap  ere  his  message  of  life  and  death  could  be 
delivered. 

To  the  last  detail  the  arrangements  made  and 
practiced  were  carried  out  without  a  hitch. 

All  watches  had  been  synchronized  with  each 
otlier. 

When  Wiggler,  who  that  night  certainly  proved 
his  right  and  title  to  the  nickname  that  his  old  school 
fellows  had  long  ago  bestowed  upon  him,  flat  upon 
his  stomach  wriggled  his  way  up  to  the  sap-head  the 

311 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  5.  ^RMT 

time  was  exactly  1.49  a.  m.  and  there  was  still  nine- 
teen minutes  to  go. 

Lieutenant  Van  Home,  who  as  "  gas  officer " 
was  in  duty  bound  to  remain  in  his  own  trenches, 
had  stolen  forward  to  the  sap-head  where  Shorty 
kept  his  lonely  vigil.  When  Wiggler  crept  in  with 
his  message,  "All  ready,"  the  two  young  officers 
heaved  a  sigh  of  infinite  relief.  Silently  they  com- 
pared their  luminous  watches,  and  waited  again. 
And,  oh  how  long  that  interminable  nineteen 
minutes  did  seem!  Every  minute  had  the  leaden 
heels  of  an  hour  to  the  three  boys  lying  out  there 
in  the  sap-head,  the  trap-door  of  which  had  been 
opened  wide  when  Ralph's  platoon  went  out 
through  it,  and  would  be  left  so  for  their  return 
when  the  job  was  done. 

The  first  gun  was  to  be  the  signal  for  the  assault. 

The  fog  was  lifting. 

Could  one  but  have  seen  the  faces  of  the  men 
lying  out  there  in  the  darkness,  flattened  against 
the  reverse  slope  of  the  enemy's  parapet,  he  would 
have  seen  the  light  of  a  wild  exhilaration  shining 
from  countenances  fixed  with  the  stern  determina- 
tion of  men  who  were  about  to  kill.  To  a  man  they 
felt  of  their  bayonets  again  and  again  to  make  as- 
surance doubly  sure  that  the  bayonet-bolt  was 
firmly  locked  over  its  bayonet-stud  beneath  the 
rifle-barrel  up   near  the   muzzle.     Their  breaths 

312 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

came  quicker  and  shorter  as  the  moments  passed; 
their  throats  became  very  dry.  Every  man  listened 
with  all  his  ears  for  that  first  shrieking  shell  that 
was  to  be  their  signal.     Would  it  never  come? 

Wiggler  had  remained  with  Van  and  Shorty  in 
the  sap-head.  The  two  other  runners  who  were 
covering  Wiggler  crept  in  presently.  Then  a 
fourth  runner  came  from  the  covering  force  that 
lay  on  their  stomachs,  extended  at  intervals  along 
No  Man's  Land  midway  between  the  salient  and 
the  line  along  which  the  new  stretch  of  trench  was 
to  run.  There  would  be  no  more  messengers  ar- 
riving at  the  sap-head. 

Ralph  and  Shorty  compared  watches  again,  and 
thereafter  kept  the  luminous  dials  in  full  view  on 
their  bare  outstretched  left  wrists.  There  were  but 
two  minutes  to  go. 

Shorty  held  the  telephone  receiver  in  his  left 
hand;  but  no  spoken  word  into  it  would  be  neces- 
sary; the  mere  pressure  of  his  thumb  upon  the  call 
button  would  be  sufficient  signal  for  Dicky  Jones 
back  there  with  his  battery. 

To  Van  Shorty  breathed  the  question,  "  Now? " 

"Yes,"  whispered  Van  in  strained  accents,  his 
eyes  fixed  upon  the  fascinating  dial  of  his  watch. 

Shorty  firmly  pressed  the  call-button  of  the  re- 
ceiver. Four  miles  away  Dicky  Jones  got  the 
signal  for  which  he  had  been  patiently  waiting. 

313 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

Upon  receiving  that  signal  his  orders  were  to  open 
up  with  all  he  had,  and  "  to  let  'eai  all  go  for  four 
minutes." 

Colonel  Richards  had  asked  for  a  three-minute 
drum-fire  only.  Shorty  was  giving  him  an  extra 
minute.  One  minute  doesn't  sound  much;  but  it 
meant  a  lot  when  you  come  to  consider  that  one  of 
those  seventy-fives  sprayed  some  six  thousand 
shrapnel  bullets  upon  a  given  spot  in  just  sixty 
seconds,  to  say  nothing  of  the  even  more  deadly 
fragments  of  the  steel  shell  casings  themselves. 

At  the  end  of  the  four  minutes  the  barrage  laid 
down  upon  the  Boche  machine-gun  position  would 
be  lifted,  so  that  the  Americans  might  not  be 
"  strafed  "  by  their  own  guns,  a  thing  that  in  the 
earlier  days  of  the  war  happened  all  too  often 
among  the  Allied  troops.  Four  minutes  had  been 
considered  long  enough  for  Barrows'  and  Storm's 
platoons  to  clean  up  and  "  block  "  the  German  fire- 
trench  on  either  side  of  the  salient,  in  preparation 
for  the  final  assault  upon  it. 

Four  minutes  was  plenty.  The  first  shrieking 
messenger  of  death  had  not  reached  its  billet  ere  the 
Americans  with  one  inarticulate  yell  fell  like  an 
avalanche  of  fighting  wildcats  over  the  top  of  the 
parapet  upon  the  heads  and  backs  of  the  completely 
surprised  enemy. 

No  words  can  really  describe  what  followed.     At 

314 


THE  RAID 

first  there  was  a  sporadic  rattle  from  the  Boche 
rifles  and  machine  guns,  followed  by  a  sudden 
meteor-like  shower  of  gleaming  star-shells.  And 
then  utter  pandemonium  broke  loose  in  the  short 
stretch  of  the  Boche  fire-trench  on  each  side  of  the 
salient. 

The  German  had  no  time  to  lift  up  his  hands  and 
cry  "kamerad."  Those  who  were  not  at  once 
bayoneted  or  knocked  on  the  head  with  trench- 
clubs  fled  to  the  false  shelter  of  their  funk-holes, 
down  into  which  the  moppers  rolled  their  terrible 
little  hand-grenades  that  in  exactly  four  seconds 
would  explode  and  plaster  everything  inside  against 
the  sides  and  roof. 

The  noise  was  at  once  deafening.  Rifles  flashed; 
bombs  exploded;  the  report  of  the  guns,  the  ex- 
plosion of  the  shell,  the  whistle  and  scream  of  them 
while  still  in  the  air,  the  yells  and  cries  of  the  men, 
all  combined  to  create  one  cataclysmic  uproar. 
The  inferno  of  Dante  was  a  joke  compared  with  it. 

Commands  and  signals  would  have  been  useless, 
and  they  were  not  needed;  right  there  it  was  that 
the  careful  and  laborious  rehearsal  of  each  man's 
role  showed  its  value.  Every  man  loiew  his  part, 
and  manfully  strove  to  perform  it. 

At  the  first  jump-off  Ralph  Storm  had  leaped 
recklessly  from  the  lip  of  the  parapet  down  into  the 
yawning  blackness  below.     He  lighted  on  his  feet, 

315 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

but  struck  up  against  a  man  who  swung  at  him  with 
the  butt  of  a  rifle.  Ralph  discharged  his  automatic 
pointblank  into  the  face  of  the  dimly  outlined 
figure,  and  heard  the  man  cough  and  his  rifle  clatter 
upon  the  duck-boards  of  the  trench  floor.  He 
leaped  upwards  and  was  scrambling  out  on  top  of 
the  parados,  along  which  he  meant  to  run  down  to 
the  point  at  which  the  first  "  block "  was  to  be 
thrown  up  on  their  right  flank,  when  some  one 
seized  him  by  the  foot  and  attempted  to  pull  him 
down  into  the  trench  again.  He  kicked  violently 
backwards,  and  his  iron-shod  heel  met  something — 
a  face,  he  thought — with  a  sickening  crunch. 

Scrambling  to  his  feet  he  raced  along  the  parados. 
At  the  appointed  place  he  found  Sergeant  Hayes, 
with  half  his  section  holding  and  covering  the  at- 
tacked right  flank,  while  the  other  half-section  tore 
down  sand-bags  and  swiftly  piled  them  into  a 
"  block  "  across  the  narrow  trench. 

Not  being  needed  there,  Ralph  turned  and,  risk- 
ing at  every  step  a  fall  that  might  have  broken  his 
neck,  raced  back  in  the  direction  of  the  salient. 

Shorty's  battery  had  not  yet  silenced  the  Hun 
machine  guns.  From  the  emplacement  of  heavily 
reinforced  concrete  a  powerful  search-light  was 
suddenly  flashed  along  the  parapet  and  full  upon 
the  advance  section  led  by  Baptiste,  who  were  mak- 
ing their  way  cautiously  along  the  parapet. 

316 


THE  RAID 

For  an  instant  in  the  bright  glare  of  the  narrow 
shaft  of  light  Ralph  saw  them  making  their  way 
ghostlike  along  the  top  from  traverse  to  traverse, 
hurling  their  bombs  into  the  trench  as  they  went. 

Then  he  saw  the  brave  French  Canadian,  clearly 
silhouetted  in  the  bright  beam,  suddenly  throw  his 
rifle  with  its  gleaming  fixed  bayonet  high  into  the 
air,  and  himself  plunge  soundlessly,  headlong  down 
into  the  deep  darkness  of  the  trench.  Ralph  leaped 
the  gaping  ditch  and  with  the  ringing  yell,  "  Follow 
me! "  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  section, 

A  direct  hit  got  the  light,  and  at  almost  the  same 
instant  the  machine  guns  ceased  their  murderous 
chatter.  The  merciless  rain  of  shrapnel  from  the 
seventy-fives  had  finally  killed  or  driven  the  Hun 
gunners  from  the  salient. 

Then  the  four  minutes  were  up — they  had  seemed 
but  four  seconds — and  Dicky  Jones  silenced  his 
pets  as  suddenly  as  he  had  cut  them  loose. 

That  made  but  little  difference  to  the  mighty 
uproar,  however,  for  before  that  time  the  Hun 
batteries  had  opened,  not  only  with  their  trench 
mortars  and  field  guns  close  up,  but  also  with  their 
"  heavies  "  miles  further  back  of  their  lines.  Most 
of  their  metal,  however,  was  falling  about  the 
American  fire-trench,  and  quite  failed  to  disturb  in 
the  least  the  parties  who  were  busily  putting  out 
the   new   wire   obstacles    already   prepared,    and 

317 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMY 

digging  the  new  piece  of  trench  immediately 
behind  it.  That  work  had  also  started  with  the 
first  shell  from  Shorty's  battery. 

With  the  lifting  of  the  box  barrage  upon  and 
about  the  salient,  Storm  led  his  men  with  a  growl, 
that  was  meant  for  a  cheer,  over  the  top  of  the 
emplacement.  Chuck  Barrows  with  his  j)latoon 
from  the  other  side  of  it  was  no  whit  behind  Ralph. 
In  a  trice  they  traversed  the  enemy's  own  machine 
guns  so  as  to  fire  rakingly  along  the  German  com- 
munication trench  leading  out  to  the  salient.  The 
demolition  squad  quickly  placed  their  slabs  of  gun- 
cotton  in  position  with  detonators  and  wires  affixed. 

Back  in  the  sap-head  the  excited  watchers 
glimpsed  between  the  fitful  flashes  of  light  what 
they  could  of  the  action  going  on  directly  in  front 
of  them  and  but  a  few  yards  distant,  and  tried  to 
pierce  the  darkness  between  flashes  with  their 
straining  eyes.  Once  Wiggler  made  a  move  as  if 
to  leave  the  security  of  the  sap-head;  but  Big  Van's 
hand  fell  heavily  upon  his  shoulder,  crushed  him 
flat,  and  forced  him  to  lay  there  till  all  was  over. 

The  explosive  having  finally  been  placed  in  posi- 
tion, the  salient  was  quickly  evacuated  after  a  part- 
ing burst  from  the  machine  guns  and  a  last  shower 
of  hand-grenades,  Ralph  and  Chuck  themselves  be- 
ing the  last  to  leave  it. 

Two  sappers  from  the  demolition  squad  had  al- 

318 


THE  RAID 

ready  laid  the  detonating  wire  out  to  a  deep  shell- 
hole  well  past  the  middle  of  the  "billard";  there 
they  awaited  the  signal  to  press  the  lever  of  their 
exploding  electric  battery.  Following  along  the 
wire  the  two  young  officers  tumbled  into  the  shell- 
hole,  and  Ralph,  as  he  rolled  over  into  it,  called 
aloud  the  one  word: 

"Fire!" 

The  resultant  terrific  explosion  overwhelmed  the 
mad  riot  of  sound  that  preceded  and  accompanied 
it.  For  an  instant  all  about  was  luridly  lighted  by 
the  tremendous  flash ;  then  all  was  darker  again  by 
contrast  even  than  before.  For  perhaps  a  minute 
even  the  Hun  artillery  was  silent,  and  the  stillness 
that  is  simply  appalling  at  such  times  beat  pain- 
fully against  tortured  ear-drums. 

The  raid  had  been  successful  beyond  all  expecta- 
tion; each  objective  had  been  gained;  but  the  cost 
of  it  all  was  by  no  means  light,  as  Ralph  Storm  and 
Chuck  Barrows  realized  to  their  great  grief  when 
a  little  later  they  took  the  tally  of  their  platoons. 

Some  hours  later  Van  and  Wiggler,  who  had 
been  aiding  with  the  wounded,  found  Storm  sitting 
on  the  side  of  his  cot  at  his  billet  in  the  little  French 
village.  His  bowed  head  rested  between  his  two 
hands,  and  he  did  not  look  up  when  they  entered. 

Wiggler  stood  silently  by  the  table  in  the  middle 

319 


FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMT 

of  the  room;  but  Van  went  over  to  Ralph,  and 
placing  a  hand  gently  on  his  shoulder  said: 

"  Come,  come,  Ralph,  this  will  not  do !  You 
must  not  brood  over  your  losses;  it  is  the  fortune 
of  war!  It  may  be  our  turn  to-morrow!  Better 
take  off  some  of  your  clothes,  old  man,  and  try  to 
have  a  bit  of  a  sleep !  " 

Ralph  silently  began  to  do  as  his  friend  bade 
him.     He  presently  inquired  in  a  low  tone: 

"  Have  you  heard  anything  new  about  the  Duke, 
Van?  Will  he  recover,  or  have  you  not  had  a 
chance  to  ask  the  doctor  again  to-night? " 

"  Yes,"  answered  his  friend  with  assumed  cheer- 
fulness, "  the  M.  O.  thinks  that  the  old  Duke  will 
pull  through  all  right.  He  says  that  he  is  suffering 
mostly  from  loss  of  blood  and  shock;  but  thinks  that 
the  Duke  has  the  constitution  and  vitality  necessary 
for  a  quick  recovery.  So,  you  see,  we  have  that  to 
be  thankful  for  anyway." 

"  Yes,  that's  surely  good  news,"  replied  Ralph, 
"  but  what  Sherman  said  about  war  is  true,  Van.  I 
am  more  than  ever  convinced  of  that  after  to-night." 


The  Stories  in  this  Series  are  : 

JOINING  THE  COLORS 
FIGHTING  WITH  THE  U.  S.  ARMY 
IN  THE  TRENCHES  (in  press) 

320 


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THIS   BOOK   ON   THE   DATE  DUE.   THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY    AND    TO    $t.OO    ON    THE    SEVENTH     DAY 
OVERDUE. 

DEC  as  1941 

DEC  la  »«  J 

Attn   n  A 

AUb  c^  *i''A 

LD  21-100m-7,'40  (69368) 

YB  32217 


mSSOTI 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


